yet i will rejoice
defiant worship in barren fields
How many times have you read through Scripture and thought, “I can’t believe they just don’t get it?” I’ve done this more times than I can count, especially when reading through the stories of the Israelites as they wandered through the wilderness. If only they would just trust the Lord, I think. I am quick to judge, but Jesus reminds me every time that I do the very same thing.
Habakkuk is one of those books where I’ve tried to “fix” things for the prophet, to argue him into peace from the outside. However, as I have sat with this text over time, the Lord has shown me how often I have stood exactly where Habakkuk stands: confused, disappointed, disillusioned, and crying out for God to do something now. Habakkuk was announcing the coming judgment on Judah, a heavy and heartbreaking word to bear. And God knew exactly the kind of prophet who would carry it.
Habakkuk’s name comes from the verb “to embrace.” He is “the one who clings.”
Clings when he doesn’t understand.
Clings when his world unravels.
Clings when God’s ways don’t make sense.
Clings when there is nothing left to hold onto except God Himself.
Habakkuk’s journey toward firm, unshakeable faith does not come easily. It comes through wrestling, through asking the questions we often think we’re not supposed to ask. His cry becomes our cry:
“O Lord, how long?”
How long until something shifts?
How long will this feel heavy?
How long until the breakthrough comes?
And then: “Why this answer?”
Why this path?
Why this hardship?
Why this timing?
I have asked these questions myself many times. I’ve asked God how long it will be until He moves, and then when He does, it’s often not the way I expected. Suddenly, I find myself questioning His wisdom. Just like Habakkuk.
But here’s the beauty in all of this: God does not rebuke Habakkuk for asking. He doesn’t silence him. Instead, He meets him in the middle of the wrestle. And slowly, through the dialogue, Habakkuk moves from panic to prayer to perspective to praise. God does the same with us.
By the end of the book, Habakkuk’s external circumstances are still the same. The fields are still barren. The fig trees are still fruitless. The future is still uncertain. But Habakkuk has changed. He has shifted from “How long?” to “Even though.”
By the end of the book, Habakkuk’s external circumstances are still the same. The fields are still barren. The fig trees are still fruitless. The future is still uncertain. But Habakkuk has changed. He has shifted from “How long?” to “Even though.”
“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 rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18
This is defiant worship in barren fields. Not worship because of what God has done, but worship because of who God is.
Habakkuk’s joy was a choice rooted in God’s character rather than in outcomes. He learns contentment and trust even when nothing makes sense. When everything else is stripped away, God remains enough.
Do you believe this? Do you have a Habakkuk faith, an “even though” faith? A faith that embraces, clings, and refuses to let go of God, no matter the circumstances. This is the kind of faith God forms in us through the wrestle.
This is the kind of faith God forms in us through the wrestle.
I’ve wrestled with God in many areas, but one of the deepest centers around my husband. He was born with a terminal lung disease. Though modern medicine has extended his life, many days are still filled with pain and physical limitations that make normal life incredibly difficult. Many times I’ve cried out, “God, where are You in all of this? Couldn’t You just hurry up and heal him? Isn’t it enough already?”
But His ways are not my ways, and His plans are higher than mine. Though my husband has yet to experience physical healing on this side of heaven, I have gained a deeper intimacy with Jesus and a stronger faith in Him through it all. Over time, my “How long?” and my “I don’t like this answer” have gradually transformed into “even though, I will still praise You because of who You are.” I praise Him not because I enjoy His answer of “not right now, not this way” but because I love Jesus, and I choose to trust Him.
Whatever circumstance you are facing right now, keep pressing in. Habakkuk asked hard questions. He wrestled with God’s plan when it didn’t match his expectations or what he imagined. But, in the end, he praised God with a defiant worship that can only be born in the wrestle. He encountered God more deeply, praising Him for His character, rather than His timing or outcomes.
May the Lord cultivate in us a Habakkuk faith. A faith that clings, trusts, and worships even in the barren fields.
Where is God shaping an “Even though” faith in you right now? How is He inviting you to cling to Him in this season?
