“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 Saviour. 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
Let’s face it, life doesn’t always work out the way we want and now days things are getting more difficult. This is how it was in the days of Habakkuk the Prophet.
However on TV we watch ‘Soaps’ where actors face horrendous problems every week but amazingly by the time the 30 minute show is over it’s all been worked out. This kind of scenario is straight out of “La-La Land,” for real life is not that simple. In reality there are lots of disappointments, frustrations, unresolved issues and seemingly unanswered prayers that may go on for a long time. If we let it get to us we will lose our hope, our vision, our joy and our love for God.
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Life isn’t straight forward and there is no set formula in the solving of our endless problems. Praise God that He promises His Children that he will deliver us.
“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;” Psalm 34:19
There are many unanswered questions and things that make it seem like God doesn’t care about us anymore, but this is far from the truth.
With a lack of discipline in schools and at home it’s producing entitled people with issues and problems which in turn produce more and more problems. There are many ‘problem people’ out there looking for a place to happen and the ripples go out in all directions. We are all suffering in one way or another from the sins of others. Look at the War in Ukraine for instance, it’s affecting the whole world with rising prices and a major refugee crisis. The sin of one man can ruin a nation and all those that are under his rule, groan.
Because things don’t seem to be getting any better we need to be careful that our hearts aren’t overcome with the sins and problems of others. We need to watch our attitude in these perilous days, for our attitude is the source of our strength. If we lose our joy then we lose our strength.
“The joy of the Lord is our strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
Your heart or attitude is the source of your strength and if you let it affect your life it will take you on a downward spiral. Your relationship with God will end up like a bad marriage, that is just going through the motions and only there for convenience.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23
You will notice in the opening verse that the Prophet said the answer was to joy or rejoice in the Lord and not in the circumstances. Things around him were bad but he found his joy in the Lord.
We need to remember that even though the fig tree doesn’t always give fruit and the grapes often fail, nothing can take Jesus away from us. If Jesus isn’t that precious to you then this revelation won’t help you much as the figs and grapes are where all your strength is coming from and when they go, what makes you happy? Paul said.i
“I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39
Paul was having a hard time and he asked God to take away his problem on 3 occasions, but the Lord said that His grace was sufficient for him. God was saying that Paul already had enough, so Paul changed his attitude and rejoiced in the situation and God’s power came on him to help.
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10
I like what it says in the Living Bible.
“Each time he said, “No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities. 10 Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite happy about “the thorn,” and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong—the less I have, the more I depend on him.”
We need a fresh revelation of the fact that Christ is with us, in fact He is in us. If we have God in us then we have all we need. We have Christ the Healer, the Miracle Worker, the Answer within and He says that is all we need. We need to believe this and rejoice in it and with this revelation we can face any challenge that confronts us in these days.
These are the Last Days when the Bride of Christ is to get herself ready. The Bride of Christ is to be full of faith and love for her Husband and you can’t do that if you are full of worry and care. The apparent lack of answered prayer in these days can cause you to grow cold towards God and drift away from Him instead of bringing you nearer. The Bride is meant to be in love with her husband and she’s not to let the ‘fig tree situation’ get her down, for she knows that her husband is looking after her and will not fail her. It’s imperative that we keep our eyes on Jesus and love Him, and praise Him in all things. Don’t let these problems fill your vision otherwise you’ll lose your first love. Anything that’s bigger than our awareness of Him then sets our agenda.
Jesus wants all of our love and trust and expects this from His Bride, the Church. Slaves may worry, but its not becoming for a Bride to be loaded down with care. It’s not attractive for a Bride to be full of care, as it reflects on her husband. It would be the same for children to be depressed about life, when they are to trust their parents to look after them. It’s not their responsibility.
So, even though things aren’t working out, don’t let the circumstances around you set your agenda. Rejoice in the Lord. Do it by faith if you have to for Christ is with you, in fact He’s in you and He is all you need. He is sufficient.
“So you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power.” Colossians 2:10 (The Living Bible)