Daily devotional · September 17
Rejoicing When the Harvest Fails
“Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights!For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.”
Habakkuk paints a bleak picture: no figs on the tree, no grapes on the vine, no olives, no crops, empty pens and empty stalls. For a farming community this meant real hunger. Then comes the astonishing word: still I will celebrate in God. The prophet does not rejoice because circumstances improved; the still in Habakkuk 3:18 carries the whole weight. His joy is anchored in who God is, the God of his salvation, and he says the Lord is his strength, making his feet like a deer's, able to climb high places. Autumn is a season of harvest, and some of us are looking at a harvest that did not come as hoped: a job, a relationship, a plan. Today, write a sentence that begins with, though. Finish it honestly, then add, still I will trust you. Read it aloud as a prayer.
Also read
“yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!”
Habakkuk 3:18
Prayer
Lord, though the harvest I hoped for has not come, I will still praise you. Be my strength today.