Although, not Until

One day as I was pondering Habakkuk 3:17 it struck me that the writer did not say, “Until the fig tree blossoms…I will rejoice in you.” He said, “Although the fig tree doesn’t blossom…I will rejoice in you.” The joy we find in God is not contingent on things getting better.

Writing this causes me to tremble within, because humanly we want so badly for God to fix things. Just this morning I was talking to my sister about how people are so often disappointed with God, because they were taught that if they would just turn their life over to God, He would fix things for them. In our own human wisdom we tend to think, if God is all-powerful, then He is capable of fixing my problems, and if He is loving, then He will choose to fix my problems. When things don’t get better, we wonder what part of our equation isn’t working, and often end up disappointed with God.

I am thoroughly convinced that God loves us, and that He is all powerful. Neither of those truths can be questioned if one accepts the Bible as God’s Word. So that leaves me with the question, “Why then, when I trust Him, do some things get worse? Why is life still so hard?

God has taught me many, many facets to the answer to this question. Still I can’t even begin to understand the whole picture. What I do know, is that my worship of God brings the only true catharsis to my wounded soul. When I worship Him because He is worthy, in the middle of a painful situation, I find new capacity for trusting Him, even if nothing in my circumstances changes.
This is my modern rendition of Habakkuk 3:17-19

“Even if my salary runs out, and I don’t make enough to cover expenses, all my resources dry up, and I wonder where my next meal is coming from; even if my livelihood falls apart, and no one is around to help me, even then I will sing and dance before God. I will find great joy in Him because He has provided eternal salvation for me.  When everything in life goes wrong, I will find strength in Him. He will provide for me in His good way. He will teach me new things in this valley of desolation, and make me walk within the light of His promises.”


3 Responses to "Although, not Until"

  • So true, Tabitha. I love those verses as they keep things in perspective. Although … and then we can each fill in the blank … yet I WILL rejoice in the Lord!

    1 Rosie Cochran said this (August 2, 2011 at 6:57 pm) Reply


  • I love your modern rendition of Habbakkuk. Maybe we could make a song for that and sing it as the second verse. What stood out to me is the contrast between what is on this earth that goes wrong and eternal salvation. It seems like Habbakkuk is saying, even if I lose everything else, salvation from God can’t be lost and therefore I will always have a reason to rejoice. Basically, no loss in this life can affect the eternal. Like Jesus’s telling the people do not fear those who kill the body, but fear the one who can destroy the soul (paraphrase :)) Habbakkuk knew he was safely out of reach of losing his soul and that made all the difference. Still for me it is one thing to know these things and another to practice them when you do lose security, and loved one and other things in this world.

    2 Tammy said this (August 3, 2011 at 10:05 am) Reply


  • I second that, Tammy. I was recently in a Bible study where a girl asked prayer because she was facing a lot of “unknowns.” On the other hand, another girl asked prayer for a major transition approaching in her life as she shifted careers over the next year. It struck me as so funny (and we even all talked about this) that whether we realize the future is “unknown” or not – even with our best laid plans, it is “unknown” to us! It is completely illogical to base our security on our carefully planned future – rather, we ought to, as Habbakkuk, find our security in the One Who holds the future!

    3 Dar Gail said this (August 6, 2011 at 9:58 am) Reply


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