Thursday's Thoughts

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (New International Version)

Though the fig tree does not bud
  and there are no grapes on the vines,
  though the olive crop fails
  and the fields produce no food,
  though there are no sheep in the pen
  and no cattle in the stalls,

 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
 I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Given the events in my life lately, I have become well acquainted with this verse.  So many times I ask “Why?,”  “Why me?” and “Why us?”  Often the answer comes back “Why not you?” 

Bottom line ... bad things happen.  I guess the real question is, “Ok, life is falling apart ... now what?”

More than once have I gone to this verse tucked away in an obscure little Old Testament book.  It is probably one of my most comforting verses.  A pastor of mine once paraphrased it this way:  ‘When you cannot praise Me for what I allow - praise Me for who I am.’

There are many, many days when I feel I cannot praise Him for the things that are allowed.  But I can always praise Him for who He is.  My God, my Savior, my Healer, my Provider, my Strong Tower, my Rock, my Hiding Place. my Protector, my Restorer and my Father - my Daddy God - and through all of these things - He sees what I cannot see.  He knows what I do not know.  He sees the big picture, and my vision is oh so limited!

I lose sight of that sometimes.  I get caught up in what is happening in my life at the moment.  It seems to encompass everything.  Sometimes the pain is so great that everything else is blotted out.  In times like these, I dig out my old, favorite marked up - highlighted in Bible and turn to this much underlined and commented upon verse.

Somewhere deep inside of me, I know it is true - even when I don't want to admit it.  All can be falling apart.  Everything can be going wrong.  I may not understand a single thing that is going on around me.

But you know what?

I don’t need to.  It sometimes takes times like these for me to get my priorities straight.  What is it that I REALLY cannot live without?  What is really important in this life?

• That I have God as my Savior.  
• That I walk through these valleys with Him.  
• There may be abundance in the future.  There may not.  
• Things may continue on the way the are.

I still have Him as my my God and Savior.  He still loves me beyond measure - beyond my grasp - even when I have my throw-downs with Him.

Not a single circumstance in my life can change that.

And in that, I can and will rejoice.