“17 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”
In the three brief chapters of Habakkuk we see an amazing transformation in the prophet’s outlook on life. Though his opening words express depths of despair, we see at the close of the book he has risen to heights of joy.
“He looks ahead. He sees the Babylonians coming. He doesn’t understand the means that God is going to use to judge His own people, the Jews. But he does trust in the motives of God, and that’s important. Sometimes we question the means that God uses to do His work. Why would God do that? I don’t get it. But never question God’s motive. Here the prophet ends in faith. He begins with a furrowed brow. He ends with his hands raised. I’m going to rejoice in the Lord. Though I know the Babylonians are coming and they’re going to strip the vines and the fig trees and the olive groves, and they’re going to wipe us out with our animals in the stalls, I, he says, will rejoice not in my situation, not in the sorrowful condition and the temporary punishment. I’ll rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. When we face trouble and our first instinct is, oh, Lord, how can I get out of this? Stop and think. Hold on to those things you know to be true about God. God’s holy. He’s my God. I’m under his new covenant, the blood of the cross. He has a plan for me. He has a plan to deal with the evil. In the meantime, I’m going to trust. The just shall trust. That will bring a level of joy as you commit it to the Lord.” (Skip Heitzig)
” ‘I will rejoice in the Lord.’ ‘I will joy in the God of my salvation,’ not in circumstances but over them, not in the part that is seen, but in the whole that faith alone can comprehend. Not in circumstances can I rejoice oftentimes, but if I have this clear vision of God it is given to me to rejoice over them; if I simply look at them my heart will be depressed, filled with a sense of sorrow; but if I see the whole, the ultimate, the unveiling of the purpose of God; if I really believe that the bud may have a bitter taste but sweet will be the fruit; if I have seen God and know that His purpose is a purpose of great love, then surely I may triumph over circumstances, not in self, but in God.
Our joy is in proportion to our trust. Our trust is in proportion to our knowledge of God. Our trust is in proportion to our knowledge of God. To know Him is to trust Him. To trust Him is to triumph and excel.” (G. Campbell Morgan)
**Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary states joy is the fruit of a right relation with God. It is not something people can create by their own efforts. Hence, the Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure.
**The Greek word for pleasure is the word from which we get our word “hedonism,” the philosophy of self-centred pleasure seeking.
My Sunday Skl 