I read a story this week about Benjamin Franklin serving in France as a representative of the United States. Although there is some debate about whether or not Ben was a Christian, he was said to have had a great respect for the Bible, which some French atheists mocked him for reading. In response, he read them a poem one night. They were impressed by the beautiful words and asked where they could find a copy. Ben revealed the source–Habakkuk 3.
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
Habakkuk 3:17-19, ESV
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
In this poetic song-prayer from Habakkuk, we see that things are looking rough. Our guy is looking to the future, and the future looks bleak. Instead of ignoring this, the language of the passage is almost confrontational. The bad stuff is going to come. Yet… Habakkuk will rejoice in the Lord. Maybe things are looking rough or uncertain in your life; maybe they’re not. Bad times come for us all at some point. Through it all, we should seek to rejoice in the Lord and take joy in the God of our salvation.
VC Devotionals 