When times are difficult, people often say that tomorrow will be better… A bit like a fate, where we endure the present in the hope that better days will arrive. It sounds reassuring and yet it is so empty, without any basis. This year which is coming to an end has certainly brought many challenges, trials and at the same time so many good things. Wanting to believe that next year will be easier is definitely what we would like and yet it probably won't. The challenges remain in front of us because the side effects of the health crisis that we have had have not finished impacting us… And yet we must rejoice!
Take a moment to read Habakuk's book of which the above verse is the last. You will find that the situation in the prophet's day was difficult. from the first chapter we see this… Certainly a bit like what we experienced this year. In verse 17, Habakuk declares what will happen, namely an even more difficult situation: no harvest, no harvest, very few olives (therefore no oil), disappearance of the herds… In short, an economic disaster, social and food. Habakuk, however, rejoices, not in the hope of a better tomorrow. His joy is found in the God of his salvation.
On the eve of this new year, let us not put our hope in a better tomorrow. Like Habakuk, let us choose to rejoice in the Lord, let us decide to wait on God and not in the circumstances. This will allow us to change the circumstances and reveal His glory. Expecting God and rejoicing in the God of our salvation causes a radical change inside our lives… We also often need external pressure to experience these transformations in our lives. So let's not be afraid and never see the ordeal as something negative, on the contrary let's learn to use it to take refuge in the presence of God. If you have not yet taken this position of rejoicing in Him, now is the time to do so, you will be surprised by the result.
Habakuk declares “The Lord my Lord is my strength”. It is a true recognition of his dependence on God, to recognize that without Him he can and is nothing (cf. John 15: 5). Which should also be our attitude of heart, a whole and total dependence on His presence to do nothing and live without Him. The trials come to reveal our limits as well as our incapacity but also that through Him we can everything (cf. Philippians 4:13). Wait on God, for He desires to give you His strength to meet all the challenges that will come your way and walk in His victory. 2021 will be a year of victories, for there will be many battles and the Lord is your strength.
Habakuk describes another result of rejoicing in the Lord: “He makes my feet like the feet of hinds, and makes me walk on heights.”. It is this ability to move with agility and lightness in steep and difficult places. God is not necessarily going to remove the trials, but He will assure you the ability to navigate them easily and to pass them without hindrance. In addition, you walk on the heights, which implies knowing how to stay in His presence, where His peace, His joy and His presence fills your heart permanently. God has planned that you will not be reached by external things, so that you remain steadfast in His presence ...
It is now your responsibility and your choice to know how to position yourself… To wait on God, He is already there in your tomorrow so I invite you to take these words of Habakuk and make them yours. Make the decision and say what he says in verse 18 “But I will exult in the Lord, I want to find joy in the God of my salvation.”. Hold firm in this decision, your life will be changed as well as the world around you ...
God blessed you richly so that you bless abundantly ...
Luke