When Evil Is Advancing

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet . . . I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!   Habakkuk 3:17-18

Habakkuk discovered a joy that didn’t depend on what was happening around him. He described the worst of all imaginable circumstances, and then he told God, “Even if everything goes wrong and all hell breaks loose—I won’t live by sight, but by faith. I’ll rest in your promise and find my joy in knowing that you are my Savior.”

Habakkuk’s joy was based on the assurance that even when the Babylonians came and overwhelmed the city of God, the Lord was in control. He’d grasped that history moves under the plan of God and is heading for the day when all evil will be brought to nothing.

This kind of joy doesn’t depend on what’s happening in the stock market or on who’s in the White House. We should pray for fig trees to bud and for cattle in the barns, but our joy doesn’t depend on these things.

Faith is better than sight. If I analyze my life in light of God’s law, sight says that I’ve sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone, including me, can see that—so can my wife! It’s the truth about all of us. “No one is righteous—not even one” (Romans 3:10).

But faith goes deeper than sight and rests on the promises of God. Faith says, “Christ died for my sins,” and believes God’s promise that “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) because Jesus carried our sin on the cross so we could be forgiven and reconciled to God. This faith in Christ brings lasting joy. I can say with Habakkuk, “I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”

Habakkuk’s joy was rooted in God, in the certainty that his purpose would be fulfilled. That gave Habakkuk stability, and he was able to worship God with joy at a time when evil was advancing in the world! What do you know about this kind of faith?

For further reading, see Habakkuk 3