“The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights” (Habakkuk 3:19 NLT).
Surefooted strength is power with wisdom. It gives us not only the strength to step, but leads us in the path to step. Since the next step is often steeper and more precarious, surefooted strength is also the courage to take it. For the depths are only one false step from the heights and faithful courage is required to move.
Lord, give us surefooted strength today!
“God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise” (Habakkuk 3:3 NKJV).
As I grew older, I came to understand from studying the Scriptures that God is eternal and self-existent. As Moses declared, “From everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psa. 90:2). God has no beginning and no end. He is not “from” anywhere because He is everywhere. He is omnipresent.
Yet, as the prophet Habakkuk praised the Lord, he remembered how God had come to Moses and the Israelites in the land to the Southeast of Israel. This was where God had met with Moses on the Mountain of God, also known by the various names of Mt. Sinai, Mt. Horeb, or “Mount Paran.” Habakkuk was calling for God to come and reveal Himself to Israel just as He had to Moses.
Are you looking for God? Don’t worry. He’ll find you. As the apostle Paul wrote, “He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27).
Six of the seven trumpets have been blown, yet humanity “did not repent.” If God’s singular purpose during the Great Tribulation would be to judge humanity’s sin, then a single, swift flood like in the days of Noah would suffice. But God’s activity is aimed at repentance. He wants to bring the remnant of His people to repentance and saving faith. The means may seem harsh, but they reveal the depth of sin bound up in human hearts. Even after six trumpets of judgment, the “rest of mankind” continues wallowing in sin and false worship. The horror of this segment of Revelation is not God’s judgments, but humanity’s lack of repentance.
When the Judean captives weren’t working for their Babylonian masters, they would retreat to the “rivers of Babylon,” and as they watched the waters flowing by, tears would begin to pour down their faces as they remembered their home in Jerusalem. They couldn’t see the mountains of Zion, but they could move to the outskirts of Babylon to gaze upon the Euphrates and the numerous man-made canals that intersected the terrain. Carrying their harps with them, they planned to sing and have a picnic, but gazing upon the waters, they “sat down” and “wept.” There’s something about sitting by a river or standing on a mountain that causes us to remember Zion. After all, this in not our true home. We are but pilgrims passing through.
Even though trials and suffering may come our way, we can depend on the strength of our God. After a long list of “even though” situations, Habakkuk declared his trust and dependence on God. This is not a response of barely hanging on, endurance. This is not “woe is me,” please feel sorry for me as I scrape by. No. This is things are hard, but we’re overcomers, persevering in Christ’s power. The mountain may be high and the valley low, but we’re leaping from peak to peak with joy and power in Jesus’ Name.
The prophet Habakkuk lived in a day when God’s judgment on Judah was about to be carried out via Babylon. In this day when there was no “fruit” or outward reason to be happy, Habakkuk determined to rejoice in God and in His salvation. Happiness is based on a desirable happening, but joy is an unshakeable state found by faith in God alone. The prophet chose joy over happiness. He said, “I will rejoice,” and “I will take joy.” These are the actions of faith.
The prophet Habakkuk wondered where the Lord was when he saw violence and injustice in his nation. But the Lord was watching and responded. He raised up Babylon to invade Judah to conquer and lay waste. There is a limit to God’s patience with violence and injustice. The prophets warned Judah, but they did not repent.
A good principle for leaders and preachers. When God reveals His Word to you, make sure to write it down in a plain and memorable fashion so that they that read it or hear it from you can run with it. Also a good habit for daily Scripture reading is to keep a study journal.