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February 6, 2018

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I Will Rejoice in the Lord

"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 a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." Habakkuk 3:17-19

This is one of the great testimonies in the Scriptures. Many of us have been in such distressing circumstances, have come to the end of our way, have exhausted every human resource, sought every option, consulted the wisdom of friends, then finally cast it all on the Lord. Then through prayer and waiting upon God, we saw His mighty hand meet us at the point of our need.

God knows the "boundary of our bewilderment," the limit to which we can go before we crash. God will proportion His strength to us in relation to the depth of our need. When the trial comes and we get so low that there seems no way out but up, God will do one of two things: He will give us "deliverance from our trial" or He will give us "sufficient grace and strength to go through the trial victoriously." How encouraging are the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation [trial, adversity] has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted [tried], he will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under it."

This was the testimony of Habakkuk. When he was bereft of all of the necessities of life--no resources to draw from, nowhere to turn for help, no hope for the future, humanly speaking--he said, "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 a deer." Wow! That is a constant, persevering, focused faith in an UNCHANGING ALL-SUFFICIENT GOD! Habakkuk realized that God could do all things. There was nothing beyond His power. No circumstances could overcome the plan and purpose of God in his life. He knew that God was with him, regardless of his bewilderment. GOD IS ABLE IN THE TRIAL to triumphantly intercede for us. What is your faith focused upon? Upon your trying circumstances, or upon God, who is able to meet your every need?

How encouraging and applicable are the words of Isaiah 40:28-31: "Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord and my cause is disregarded by my God? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and no one can fathom his understanding. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even the youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint." "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is the rock eternal" (Isaiah 26:3,4).

© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.


This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2018-02-06


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