Yet I Will Be Joyful

“Even though the fi g trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NLT) It is not easy to rejoice when things are not going well. When we see all the bad things that are happening in the world, it grieves us. It seems like things are not going to get better. Well, Habakkuk knew what that was like. He was a prophet of God, and he knew that Judah was going to be invaded by the Babylonians. Habakkuk trusted in God and knew He was sovereign. Yet, he still had some honest questions in mind. When I see and hear about the evil in the world, it is easy to get anxious and worried. Here we see that, even though Habakkuk knew things were going to get bad for Judah, because he followed God, he chose to rejoice in the Lord instead. What faith Habakkuk had in the Lord! Habakkuk made the choice to rejoice in the Lord regardless if the situation changed or not. This challenged me, and still does, to rejoice in the Lord even through these times. The last verse in chapter 3 of Habakkuk says, “The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights” (NLT). The Lord is in control and reigns. This gives me the peace to rest in who He says He is. The Lord is my strength. I choose to rejoice in Him! — Myrna Kopf   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org