Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no corn, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, I will still be joyful and glad, because the Lord God is my saviour. (Habakkuk 3:17,18 GNB) Habakkuk was written just around the time Babylon was coming to power and wars between Egypt and Israel and Assyria and Babylon were taking it’s toll on the nation of Judah. Israel (the northern kingdom) had already fallen. There was not much left in Judah to be honest. There was famine, there were vassal taxes that needed to be paid. The economy was wrecked because people started to flee because of the warring. Those that remained began to lose hope, theirs was a slow death that would crawl upon them ever slowly and quietly. We see Habakkuk writing in this situation of dire exhaustion and desolation. Now let’s look at our lives. Do we have anything left? The job has run dry, our family has left us empty, our relationships are bankrupt, and so on and so forth. If you look at your situation and see nothing left, I want you to look around you again; but, this time more closely. The reason I want you to do that is because there is one thing that remains after everything is gone: God’s love. If you considered this idea, and it sounds too far-fetched, then I challenge you to read Romans 12. I want you to understand that God loved you and me before we were lovable. He sacrificed His Son’s life for the sake of our own wretched ones. He compelled Himself to our lives: he intervenes and provides for us even though it looks like we’ve got nothing left. This is the hope we cling to in order to move on with our lives. If we would believe that God is our savior when there is nothing, we would have more than enough to keep going. If we would act like we have been saved, there would be more than enough power to fill our veins. People, countries and nature can wreak havoc on our lives, but that will not take away our joy and gladness because God is our savior!
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