Rejoicing While We Wait

1. In Habakkuk 2 God tells him that the desolation they are experiencing will come to an end. The Israelites are about to head into exile under the devastating hand of the Babylonians and then ultimately be liberated. The prophecy God gives to Habakkuk is about 66 years before God will fulfill his promise.

 

2. God tells Habakkuk to write down the prophecy: that this revelation speaks of the end and will not prove  false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly not delay (Hab 2:2-3).

 

3. It really seems like it "lingers" - 66 years. Our timing is not God's timing.

 

4. Attitude of the one who waits in hope: Habakkuk says: "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. the Sovereign Lord is my strength;he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." (Hab 3:17-19)

 

Habakkuk encourages us to rejoice when nothing is there. The absence of blessing, the absence of peace, the absence of vibrancy, the absence of life, the absence of righteousness & holiness among people, the absence of money, or anything prosperous is not a time to complain. It is a time to rejoice. It is a time to be joyful in God. It's in these moments we discover joy isn't found in things, it's found in God. It is also where we ask God to strengthen us and be our strength and enable us to go on the heights.

 

As you survey your life is it absent of anything? Now is the time to rejoice while you wait for the provision of the Lord. Now is the time to rejoice when it feels like God's answer is lingering. Now is the time to find joy in Him and to discover His strength and not our own.

 

This day I'm choosing to rejoice in the Lord, thank Him for what I can, and thrive where I'm planted. How about you?