As I have been reading through the bible lately, scripture has popped up from unexpected places and helped me with my struggles in life. The title of this post is similar to Job 13:15, but the scripture that I am writing about today came very unexpectedly from Habakkuk 3:16-19:
16 I hear, and my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
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.
The context of Habakkuk’s praise is the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. Nothing in my life right now could compare to the trouble he was facing. Yet, he had the grace to respond in this manner.
This has been the slowest month at work (for me anyway) that I have had since being in this position. Thus, our financial situation in November could be dire. Everything else could not be better. My car is now working perfectly (after God supplied a new fuel pump). But the outlook for November finances has shaken me lately. I wish I could say that I am in perfect peace, but I have not been lately. But, I now say (along with Habakkuk) “though the finances disappear, I will rejoice in the Lord…You alone are my strength. As I wait upon You, my strength will be renewed.”
May this be encouragement to all of us to wait upon the Lord and watch for His salvation!
By His grace and for His glory,
Kevin
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Very important point that we all need to work on as Christ followers. It certainly fits for my situation that has been far from easy. Thanks for the quickening of the word Kevin.
I am actually amazed at the grace the Lord showed me. I was being seriously intimidated and challenged by, without naming names, a whole group of people from a particular religious denomination. All I was doing was sharing the blessings that my faith has been to me and yet they became very aggressive and nasty. It was brewing for days and I was not sure if I was imagining it, but they revealed their true colours. Thankfully, due to my suspicions I had been praying hard over it, and the day that it all kicked off there was a whole room full of them up against just me (and if you knew me you would know that I am the biggest wimp). But although I started off stammering and stuttering, by calling out to the Lord I was gradually filled with the Lord’s spirit, and I started using the word of the Lord. One by one they left the room leaving me with the ring leader – who by this point SHE was the one who couldn’t get her words out. When I went back in there today she was more than humble, the Lord had softened her heart and her attitude toward me. I am not sharing this testimony to brag, as I said I myself am a wimp and a coward. It was the Lord, and waiting on HIM that led to my victory. All the glory goes to HIM.