Habakkuk 3:17-19 “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, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

As we read through the book of Habakkuk we see that he too had questions. He wondered as we do often why it seems that evil is winning; why do evil men seem to prosper. The broken and evil world he was living in troubled him. He asked and God answered. Habakkuk did not ask men for their thoughts, he asked God and received answers from him; he took his complaints, his hurts, and frustration straight to God.

Do you know that we too can take all our requests, complaints, and concerns to God? He wants us to come, he desires to clear up our confusions and hurts our disillusionment and frustrations. Right now in our day evil seems to be winning. The wicked seem to be gaining speed and prospering in their evil deeds. God reminded Habakkuk that although they seemed to be prospering right that moment their end was not a good one. There would be a payment extracted for their sin and rebellion against God. In the end, they would lose out. Theirs would be a fiery pit of hell, and eternal separation from God for all eternity, if they did not repent and turn from their wickedness.

Also, we see how we should respond when things are not going well for us. Even in hard times, when finances are hard, jobs may be scarce, trouble abounds on every side, there is a wrong and a right way to respond to the troubles and trials we face. First, we need to take our eyes off of the problems. We need to see our problems through the lens of our faithful Lord and Savior, and not the Lord through the trials and tribulations. We need to remember that God is always in control!! Nothing happens in our world, or our personal lives that he is not fully in control of. He does not have any surprise moments! Our feelings should not be controlled by the events around us or with us. Our response should always be one of faith, hope, and a calm assurance that we are not alone and that God is with us. He will give us what we need in those moments to stand firm and even have joy in the process if we will let him. God is our strength in hard times.

One day God will rid this world of evil. Those who do not know him will die in their sins and be forever separated from God. There will be no hope in hell. We have a difficult time understanding eternity. We have 24-hour days and we live our lives around that. But in God’s kingdom, there is not a 24-hour clock to dictate life. God can give his children surefooted confidence as they run across life’s mountains and valleys. He can make even the rough hard places passible with joy intact. Does this mean we will not have moments of tears or frustration, no, but those should not last long. There is a difference between happiness and joy. Joy resides deep in our souls and can bubble to the surface even in hard moments. Whereas happiness comes and goes.

We all need to be laser-focused on Jesus. We all need to read and pray as we go through trials, and sometimes we need to just sit in His presence and let him refill us. We need to rejoice in the Lord always! Until God brings about justice and rids the world of all evil, keep looking at him, keep trusting his faithfulness and goodness in your life. He is your strength, He is our hope and our future. He is and always will be God, and there is nothing too hard for him. No problem too big, no disappointment too deep, no hurt that he cannot cover and comfort. Let God be God and you praise him anyway, trust him because He truly does have it all under control, He is truly is victorious in all things!

I am sure like me there have been times when you were not sure where how you were going to pay your bills, where your next meal was coming from, the thought of having enough money for gas seemed overwhelming, figuring out how to budget on nothing for groceries brought tears to your eyes, clothes for your children, but God…

But here I am having always had what I needed just in time. I have never had to do without those things, somehow God always came through. It was never in the way I thought it would happen and it always seemed to cost me some of my pride, but as we know pride goes before the fall : )
I sit here blessed beyond measure, with more than I need, surrounded by all of the blessings God has richly poured into my life obviously, I made it through, and if you are reading this, so have you! Now let’s all give God the praise he deserves! He alone is worthy, He alone is Sovereign, He alone is able… Praise His Holy Name, Jesus, that name above all other names, Master, Savior, Jesus…Count your blessings, stop looking at what is not right and look into the face of the One who can hold you, keep you, bless you and strengthen you, and provide everything you need, and often those things you just want : )

Evil does not win….God does!