No Matter What

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17-18

The longer I live, the more evidence I see around me that most of our relationships are conditional. That is, “As long as you do this for me, I will be your friend / remain connected / do this for you.” If that sounds cynical to you, my apologies! However, if we are honest, it is often true! Of course, as Christ followers, we should certainly be striving for a higher level of loyalty to each other, and be motivated by our love for others, rather than what we can gain from our relationships. It is also easy for us to see our relationship with God through the same lens. “As long as God does what I expect, I will honor / believe / trust Him.” The problem with that kind of thinking is that it makes us god, instead of allowing the Almighty God of Scripture to be God. That kind of thinking is in fact saying, “I know better than You do, God. You are letting me down right now.” Instead, shouldn’t we be saying, “God–this is Your world. Everything I have comes from You. It is Your right as the Sovereign of this universe to do as You please.” This is where Habakkuk finds himself. His declaration above is this, “No matter what occurs, what I have, what I don’t have, what’s good in my life, what’s bad in my life, I will trust You.” Where are you? Can you say that today?

-Pastor Mike