When the going gets tough.

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines... yet will I rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength...
Habakkuk 3:17-19, NKJV
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At sometime or other we all have what can only be described as one of those days! You know - the sort of day that starts when you wake up and realise that the alarm clock hasn't gone off and you're late! In your panic you fall out of bed, trip over the slippers left at the bottom of the bed, go into the bathroom and discover there's no hot water and the toothpaste tube is empty. Stumbling over the loose piece of carpet on the landing (which you've been meaning to fix for ages) you rush downstairs to find the kitchen sink is blocked and, added to which, you burn the toast. Things don't seem to improve outside the house either, because the car doesn't want to start and you're too late for the bus. So the day continues until later you eventually collapse back into bed and with a sigh of relief saying 'Thank goodness today's over. It's just been one of those days!'
You may be able to identify to a greater or lesser degree with something like this, but hopefully not too often with the kind of day described by Habakkuk in chapter 3, where we have a picture of a terrible set of circumstances. There's no food , no cattle, no crops, no harvest and no prospect of provision at all. It's a picture of utter deprivation, destitution and hopelessness. If someone was faced with a situation like this, it would be easy to understand that he or she would just give up. That's not the case here!

Having described such dire conditions, Habakkuk, in verse 18, declares 'Yet will I rejoice'. How could this be so? The subsequent verses explain it all. He had come to realise that true joy and satisfaction are not dependent upon material possessions. Even amidst adversity and difficulty he recognised that:-

1) God was his Saviour (verse 18)

2) God was sovereign (verse 19) and therefore in control of everything

3) God was his source of strength (verse19) and therefore able to help him in every situation

4) His safety and security were found in God (verse 19).

May the Lord enable us all to trust Him more, especially when the going gets tough.