THE JOY OF THE LORD

I love the verse in Habakkuk 3:17:

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls..." (Sounds like this fellow has problems.) Look at the next verse:

"Yet...Yet...Yet...Yet...Yet."

Notice, he is not going to surrender to his problems. He is going to do something about his problems.

He says, "Yet I will REJOICE IN THE LORD, I will be JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOR" (v. 18).

He is going to REJOICE because, "The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights" (v. 19).

You see, Habakkuk had no intention of stayingdefeated. He may look defeated, but he is not going to stay defeated. The difference between the person who is defeated and the person who is victorious is their attitude.

An attitude of gratitude will put you over in life. This is the kind of attitude that this prophet had. Even though nothing good was happening in his life--no fruit, no crops, no sheep, no cattle--yet he rejoiced.

In our modern world, Habakkuk might have said it this way:

"Though there is no food in the refrigerator, and there is no money in the account, though the sickness gets worse, and the pain persist, though my children are on drugs, and my spouse does not appreciate me, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

Regardless of the circumstances, you can rejoice!