Have you ever been in a season where things were not going your way? Where the bills stacked up, your family member(s) became ill, the workplace was acting up, the children were acting up, and your spouse was acting up? Have you ever had to deal with a season where all you did was mope, act depressed, or cried with regularity? If truth were told, we've all been there in one form or another. As you have these feelings, you feel like life has failed you. However, on today, I am encouraged to know that God, through we go through these failures, is still right there. He still has the keys to your life and the keys to my life! Within today's text, He provides us with a weapon we should use when all else fails.
Our main scripture for today is located in the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk was one of the twelve Minor Prophets within the Old Testament. This book was written between 610 and 605 B.C. Habakkuk wrote this book with wondering why God was allowing His selected people to go through suffering from their enemies. Through God answering His prophet, the faith of Habakkuk was restored. Within this particular chapter, Habakkuk was praying to God and within this prayer, we find what Habakkuk prescribes for us when all else fails.
He starts off the text by saying, "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". Ladies and gentlemen, many of us have planted seeds and have seen where no produce has came. We have tried one business venture and it did not grow. We have tried various relationships and it did not last. We have tried to do things our way and it did not work. At the end of the day, we have all experienced the feeling of no produce, the feeling of no grapes on the vines, and the feeling of no buds from our trees.
Habakkuk continues by saying, "though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls". There were times and seasons in your life where God had provided you with sheep (money, friends, etc.) to handle your business, cattle in the stalls for growth and helping you accomplish greater things. Here again, as I mentioned previously, you were provided those things and eventually, your pen was empty with no sheep and your stalls were empty with no sheep and your brook has dried up without any water being there! What are we to do when all of these things have failed?
The answer to the question is given here. Habakkuk finishes the text by writing, "yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior". Brothers and sisters, no matter how dry your season is, rejoice! When your children act up, rejoice in the Lord! When your money is funny and your change is strange, rejoice! When your workplace wants to give you a rough time, rejoice! When your family members do not understand what God is doing in your life, rejoice! The Word tells us that "The joy of the Lord is our strength". When you take time to rejoice, you won't take time to be depressed! You won't take time to think about what you do not have! When you have God in your life, you have everything you need! Though the brooks have dried up, God has and will continuously send you "the water" you desire! When you are in need of blessings, He will be Jehovah Jireh to provide for you! When you are in need of some peace, He will be Jehovah Shalom and be your peace! When you need victory over the enemy, He will be your Jehovah Nissi! When all else fails, REJOICE! I feel like the old hymn I use to hear at my home church right now when it says, "When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all He has done for me, my soul cries out Hallelujah, I thank God for saving me!" Don't you thank God for saving you? Don't you thank God for keeping you closed in your right mind? If you do, then rejoice and give Him praise!
In closing, seasons of pain, blues, and agony will come. Seasons of failure and hurt from unexpected places will come. The lesson here is to do like Habakkuk and have a "yet God" rejoice in your Spirit! Have a "yet God" rejoice in your mind, body, and soul! When you do that, you tap into God and He will be there to come to your rescue!
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