Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4

Rejoicing in Despair

(Tip: this snippet is part of a series which can be found here) 

Despair paralyses, strikes us down and robs us of our joy and contentment in God.  This it seems, is what happened to Habakkuk. Overwhelmed and in deep distress he prayed to God (Hab 1:2-4,13,17), hoping to be rescued.  God did not rescue him, instead he gave him the strength to rejoice!

Habakkuk poetically describes his distressing situation as:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet…” Habakkuk 3:17-18

The simplest interpretation suggests that a famine was imminent (no fruit, grain, sheep or cattle). A second interpretation emerges when we recognise the fruits described as divinely inspired. For example,

 

• the fig may represent Israel’s* (Habakkuk’s fellow citizens) righteous conduct (Mat 21:19-21).
• The vine symbolises how God nurtured and blessed Israel, giving them a land flowing with milk and honey, blessing them, and making them His nation (Psa 80:8-12, Isa 5:1-2).
• The olive pictures the spiritual dimension of God’s relationship with Israel (Jer 11:16-17, Rom 11:17-24).

These simple observations reveal that Israel’s unrighteousness cost them God’s care and their positions as His spiritual representatives. Further, with no grain, sheep or cattle there was no immediate path back to God – nothing to sacrifice to seek God’s mercy.

Habakkuk rejoiced – despite these horrid circumstances! His ability to do this came from God and his focus on Him. Looking to the God of his salvation, he claims the joy and with steps filled with agility and energy he climbs into the “high places”, becoming even closer to God (Hab 3:19). We can look at our Lord in the same way:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1-2

Perhaps the most important thing we learn from Habakkuk’s experience is that our Lord, in His righteousness, may not deliver us from difficult circumstances. He may even allow them to become more difficult. However, we can be confident that, no matter how dark the situation is, we will always be able to rejoice in the Lord!

*Note, it is commonly accepted that Habakkuk’s prophecy is to the Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah).

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! 1 Chronicles 16:10