Habakkuk Tells Us to Rejoice When Things Fall Apart. Seriously?

Habakkuk seemed to have it backwards. He tells us to rejoice in failure. “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.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV)

Certainly, events over the last few years could have given Habakkuk’s situation a run for its money. We’ve experienced inflation, culture wars, political acrimony, the “divided states of America’, the Covid Pandemic, racial tension, war in Ukraine, and the list goes on… The headlines in this world proclaim one “bad news” story after another.

As the past couple of years have shown us, there are times when everything seems to fall apart. Yesterday’s blog on Romans mentioned a cycle of suffering. It can be a major calamity or it can even be an accumulation of small things, but sometimes it seems like life is just not fair.

When it Rains…

Habakkuk knew

There is a reason people say, “It never rains, but it pours”, because calamities and irritations seem to travel in a pack. Failure happens. Something mechanical breaks down. A relationship gets strained. A bill comes due, and there is no money in the account to pay it. Cable goes out just before the big game… And sometimes, it all seems to happen at once.

Habakkuk says that even in the midst of breakdowns and unfortunate circumstances, “Yet I will rejoice in The Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior”. Habakkuk says “I will”. He chooses to see the good God has done and refuses to dwell on the evil around him. God does not afflict us, He offers us salvation.

God uses even bad circumstances for good–to build patience, to draw us closer to Him, or to make us more like His son. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I know that’s easy to say, and harder to believe, but God promises that He can provide the silver lining behind every dark cloud.

So when you encounter failure, the crops fail, and the fridge is empty, don’t give up! Like Habakkuk, say “I will be joyful”! Sometimes happiness is a matter of deciding to be, anyway. If you are experiencing something difficult, don’t despair. During England’s dark days under Nazi attack, Winston Churchill said: “When you are going through hell, keep going.”

Choose Joy

Habakkuk takes that challenge even further. He says we should flip the tables on it and rejoice. Joy is a choice we can make, and the Lord promises that He will work within even your worst circumstances for your good, and to give you reasons to rejoice. When the worst happens, we may not gain triumph over circumstances from an earthly perspective, but we can gain intimacy with God, and He can use circumstances to improve us. Habakkuk also says that we can choose to rejoice no matter what, so take heart. Choose joy.

Habakkuk says, when times are hard, that he will lift his voice,
And though his crops might fail, that he will still choose to rejoice!
Could it be, like trusting God, that joy can be a CHOICE?
When circumstances flail you, don’t allow them to derail you,
So whatever that entails and whatsoever may assail you,
Place your hope and trust in God, because He’ll never fail you!

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Joy Made People Cry in Ezra. Has Your Joy Ever Made You Weep?

The Temple of Solomon was an amazing structure, built in about 950 BC by thousands of artisans who hand-crafted every stone. It was a jewel in the crown of Israel’s kingdom. More importantly, it was the central worship place of the Most High God. Then, in 586 BC the Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II, when Babylon sieged and overwhelmed Jerusalem. When Ezra returned in 538 BC, his team performed the back-breaking work required to rebuild the temple. This project affected not only their religion, but their entire sense of community. After years enduring the despair of defeat and captivity, the project also brought them something else: JOY.

How joyful are you? In a world where everyone seeks happiness, its seems that sometimes pure joy is in short supply. Perhaps we can discover it in this passage:

Joy that Showed

“With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.” (Ezra 4:11-13, NIV).

joy

When the Israelites were able to return to build the temple, it was a moving experience. They had gotten permission from Cyrus to leave Babylon, and then created a plan and traveled back together all the way to Jerusalem. The people who returned performed exhausting manual labor with a sense of urgency: they were rebuilding God’s house! They worked together to clear away debris, and to move huge stones into place for the foundation. When it was laid, the older workers wept aloud, while the younger ones gave a great shout of praise that carried their joy into the heavens.

Restoration

It was an exciting time for many whose lives had been torn apart, or who had lived their entire lives in exile, away from the homeland they dreamed of. They sang praises; they rejoiced with thanksgiving! As Ezra says, their emotion was so overwhelming that “no one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping” as people cried out, filling the air with emotional exclamation points. They were refreshed and excited, newly reminded of God’s goodness and love!

As you reflect on the emotion of this scene, ask yourself: what represents rebuilding God’s temple to you? Is there a thing you have been missing in your life, which being restored would cause you to shout with joy? Is it a mountain top where you once rejoiced? Is it a place of service where you felt useful? A calling you have neglected to follow? Maybe it’s time to rebuild…

I bet almost all of us have some special place in our relationship with God where we long for restoration, and for the chance to feel His love and goodness anew. Consider the possibility of making a plan, of enlisting friends and family to travel with you, and of returning to the place where you, too, would shout for joy! Or weep for joy. Or, just go into your prayer closet today and seek the Lord in the privacy of your own heart. I think God will meet you there either way.

Choose Joy

Perhaps you, too have felt alone, with all your laughter stilled;
Perhaps you’ve been knocked down a peg, and needed to rebuild.
Go and seek the Lord. He can restore what has been taken,
And He’ll be your foundation when the entire world’s been shaken.
Stand before Him. Choose to sing to Him, and lift your voice!
Claim His promise to restore. Believe. Receive. Rejoice!

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread