Habakkuk wrote during a time of intense suffering and pain. The Judean empire was collapsing and invaders menaced the land. Hope hid her face and prayers remained unanswered. Yet in the midst of his lament, Habakkuk remained clear-eyed.

He told of his fear: I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled.

But despite the looming horror of vicious conquerers, Habakkuk dug his fingers into the Lord and refused to let go:

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will by joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

Habakkuk returned to past promises the Lord made concerning his people. God will eventually hear the prayers of those who seek him, but it may be awhile. In the meantime Habakkuk stubbornly stuck with the Lord. His language smacks of defiance—bring the worst, I don’t care. There’s only one source of strength and Habakkuk knew upon whom to place his faith.

It’s difficult to stick with the Lord through hardship. It’s tempting to shove my faith in a closet when God fails to show himself on my schedule. However, it’s more powerful, and eventually much more rewarding, to follow the dogged example of Habakkuk.

An ornery cuss, Habakkuk stuck with the Lord through the worse. Let his fierce commitment to the Lord fire our faith today.

Habakkuk 3 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dikaseva