Habakkuk 3

Yesterday I got to wrap up my series on Habakkuk. Chapter 3 is a hymn of honor to God. Even though Habakkuk doesn't really like or look forward to God's method of redemption, he remembers who God is, accepts what he is doing, and trusts that it will all work out for the best.

So many people live in Chapter 1 always arguing with God. Some people make it to Chapter 2 where they take the focus off themselves and look to see what God is doing. But few people live in Habakkuk 3 embracing God's plan with true faith.

Yesterday I got to share out of Chapter 3 a very personal, one of the most personal passages in the Bible to me. When I was ordained I asked my presbyter to prophesy over me. He prophesied Habakkuk 3:17-19, "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 Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of the deer, he enables me to go on the heights."

At the time that passage didn't mean that much to me. But I made sure to mark it. Paul told Timothy to fan into "Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. " So I believe that at ordination moments there are words that God gives that give scope to one's ministry.

It wasn't until recently when looking at our church, facing my own short comings, and the lack of fruit for our labor that this passage came back to me. It showed me that nothing about our situation is a surprise to God. He knew that this season of ministry would be like fig trees that have no figs, empty cattle stalls, and that's ok. My joy is not found in ministry. My joy is found in God who sets me on the heights in his love and is setting my steps surely, like the sure-footed steps of the deer.

None of us is outside of his view. His plan may not always go the way we think, but He knows our end from our begining, and we're in good hands, when we're in God's hands.

-- Ben