My strength

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. - Habakkuk 3:17-19

At the end of the book of Habakkuk things are not really any better in man’s sight. He has already acknowledged that God is in His holy temple. Now he takes the bolder step of applying what Paul would say to the Corinthians a thousand years later.

Don’t look at what you can see, but what you can’t see. The things you can see are temporary; the things you can’t see are eternal.

The visible things of the day were the fig trees and fruits and olive trees and crops and flocks and herds. They all may fail.

The invisible truth is this: the Lord God is my strength. I will rejoice in that no matter what I see. I don’t need to rely on my own strengths or abilities or knowledge or wisdom or skills. They would all fail anyway.

I can however depend on my strength to lift me up above the mess and to secure my steps as I go through this broken old world.

Even when my figs trees don’t blossom and vines don’t bear fruit and the fields are empty and it seems like there is there is no hope God will still be my strength to carry me on.