Habakkuk 3:17-19
“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,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.”
When all is gone, God is not gone…so no matter our circumstances, we can rejoice in God, the God of our salvation. Those who, when they are full, enjoyed God in all, whey they are emptied can enjoy all in God, and can sit down upon a melancholy heap of the ruins and even then sing to the praise and glory of God. This is the principal ground of our joy in God, that He is the God of our eternal salvation, the salvation of the soul; and , if He be so, we may rejoice in Him in our greatest distresses, since by them our salvation cannot be hindered, but may be furthered. Joy in God is never out of season, no, it is in a special manner seasonable when we meet the losses and crosses in this world, that it may appear that our hearts are not set upon theses things, nor our happiness bound up in them he that is the God of salvation in another world will be our strength in this world, to carry us on in our journey and help us over the difficulties and oppositions we meet with in our way. Prayer is the heart’s ease to a gracious soul. (Matthew Henry commentary)
So let’s remember that we worship God for who He is, not because of our circumstances.
We can joyfully praise God in all situations because of the salvation that Jesus has granted us through His sacrificial death on the cross and the eternal life He has granted us through His resurrection. This is not to say we can never be sad or angry… it means that God’s love and faithfulness is not based on our circumstances, but on His very nature. We can cry and rejoice at the same time. We can be angry and joyful in God at the same time.
This world can be a terrifying place because Satan, the prince of this world, roams around as a lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8) and Jesus told us that in the world we will have trouble (John 16:33), but we can rejoice because in the same passage Jesus says TAKE HEART FOR I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!!!! FRIENDS THAT’S REASON TO REJOICE NO MATTER WHAT WE MAY BE FACING!!!
So no matter what comes our way, humanly speaking we will go through many different emotions, but we must also engage our spirit man and our faith and rejoice in the Lord our God.
3j2pyc 