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Habakkuk 3 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
O LORD, I have heard of what you have done, and I am filled with awe. Now do again in our times the great deeds you used to do. Be merciful, even when you are angry.
Habakkuk 3:2 GNB
Let us remember the faithfulness of God in the past. Let us rejoice and praise His Name for His victory. Do it again, Lord! This was the heart of Habakkuk. This psalm was meant to be sung by the captives during the exile. Though he knew the fate of his people, he couldn’t help but continue to praise God and look toward a time when His mercy would shine down. The storms that Habakkuk saw on the horizon did not alienate him from God. The storms drew him closer.
Is this how we react to the storms of life? Is this our response when the fields are bare… when the fig tree has no fruit… and when no grapes grow on the vine?
Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, 18 I will still be joyful and glad, because the LORD God is my savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD gives me strength. He makes me sure-footed as a deer and keeps me safe on the mountains.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 GNB
This is such a powerful Word! Even if the sheep die, and the cattle stalls are empty and the crops fail, God is still on the throne. He’s not nervous. He’s not lost control. We can still trust in Him. What does this mean practically today? It means that even if His gifts are taken away and His blessings are removed, there is still victory IN Him. Our hope does not come from the gifts, it comes from knowing The Giver. This is a subtle but important distinction. Many will abandon God when times get tough. Many will lose faith and take matters into their own hands. Not Habakkuk.
“If all God’s gifts failed he would still possess the Giver. He could still triumph in God. Indeed, the divine Savior and Friend is often more apparent when the fields and the farmsteads are bare.”
F.B. Meyer