Nahum 1 – Habakkuk 3

Scripture

“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. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:17 – 19 NIV

Observation

Habakkuk comes to the realization that even though everything that is supposed to be normal is not, he still needs to rejoice in the Lord.  The Lord is sovereign and enables him to do great things.

Application

Even if…

It is so easy to praise the Lord when everything is going great in my life. But when I’m having one of those days when things aren’t so great, when I’m struggling with the kids and their schooling, when I have a headache that just won’t go away, etc., rejoicing in the Lord, is sadly not my priority. Instead I usually have a little pity party about how terrible things are and am grumpy with my family. And this is just small stuff I’m sweating.

I recently finished a book by my favorite Christian author, Karen Kingsbury, where a character, in a very down part of life,  realizes while listening to the song “Blessed Be Your Name” that it’s during the desert and wilderness parts of her life that she most needs to stay close to Jesus and bless His name.

So even while living in this sin-filled world where circumstances can change from one second to the next, I am called to rejoice in the Lord…not in my circumstances, but in God my Savior. My emotions may go up and down, but God is consistently unchanging and in that I can be joyful. He is sovereign, He is my strength, He enables me to go on! What an awesome God!

So how do I go from lofty ideas on a blog, so the nitty gritty of my life? First and foremost I need to daily ingest truth from God’s word. When I have His words of truth in my heart and mind, I am better equipped to handle what comes my way. The second thing I’ve been trying to do while homeschooling the kids is to start our school day with Bible lessons, songs & prayer, to set the tone, and to have Christian music quietly playing while we do our work.  It is much easier to rejoice in the Lord, when I hear positive messages from Christian artists in the background.

So even if…. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (vs. 18)

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

I just pray that even amongst the “noise” of this world, You would make Your presence known in a bold way in my life and the life of my family. Please help me to focus on Your awesomeness and to rejoice in You, no matter what.  You are always worthy of my praise, despite my daily changing circumstances! Thank you for being my strength and enabling me to go to those places that are sometimes high and scary, while you walk along with me and hold my hand.

Amen

Beckie (look2thehills)

 

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