Hope in the valley

A Hymn of Faith

Habakkuk 3

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

We’ve been singing a new song at our church and it’s so good. As I was inserting the scripture above, this song was playing in my mind. Here’s some of the lyrics to “Catch me singing”.

“You always finish what You start

What You have grown into a garden, You planted in the dark

You always finish what You start

Good things just take a little time

Your hands are working in the soil and bringing me life

Good things just take a little time”

“I will trust You in the famine, I will bless You in the feast

When I'm standing in Your victory, when I'm on my knees

I will praise You with the rising and the setting sun

You're gonna catch me singing when the springtime comes”

“You've been God for a long time

You're the final word, You're the finish line

Everything's gonna be alright, I know it

You've been God for a long time”🎶

Good things do take a little time and God does plant us in the dark. Everyone wants to see the growth but what about the planting? That’s a vital part. Is He gonna catch us singing when the spring time comes? Better days are ahead. Are we ready, prepared and expectant of what He is gonna do, or are we always thinking less? I have to remind myself that He is an exceedingly abundantly God and that He can be trusted. He has been God for a long time (eternity) and He doesn’t fall off of His throne… His ways and thoughts aren’t mine and He’s able to blow my mind. Since good things do take time and He’s working behind the scenes to work it all out for my good, then I must trust and praise Him in the meantime - for what I say that I believe He can do.

Not only do I believe that worship is vital in showing our faith for believing for what we cannot see, but worship also builds our faith. It’s easy to praise when everything is going our way or working out, as we should, but isn’t He worthy all the time? And sometimes we tend to even forget to praise Him when He does bless us….. We tend to forget what we did pray for. We must praise and worship the One Who created us and to Whom all praise is due. Worship is a form of not only giving praise and honor, but our time and adoration by giving Him honor through our lives with anything that He has given us to use.

Every good and perfect gift comes from above.

But what about when we see nothing good or how anything good could come? The writer Habakkuk explains. THOUGH the fig tree doesn’t blossom, there’s no fruit on the tree, no food in the field, and the flock is cut off from the fold with no cattle in the stalls - YET he was choosing to praise God. Times were obviously more than tough and things weren’t going so well because of sin. Sin always leads to destruction. Hope looked bleak. All was dry and dried up. He had reason to despair. They were in a bad position but Habakkuk refused to lose hope. He knew that spring time was coming no matter how dark the night was; daylight was coming.

We may have many night seasons but God can give us a new song/ a day song out of those dark times. I believe the deeper the dark, the brighter the light will shine. Just turn a flashlight on in the daylight and see. Our light will come out of what we’re going through. The deeper the sin, the deeper the grace. It doesn’t make sense but it’s how God works and it’s Who He is. Not every trial is because of our sin but we all face them.

God will come through…. Wait and see.

Remember the 23rd Psalm? What does David say about a dark time and a deep valley? “YEA, THOUGH I walk through…. the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil!” Why? Because he knew that the Lord was not only with him but also on his side. You can too. He was waking through it. Faith isn’t the absence of fear but rather facing it. David speaks of faith and confidence of what was to come. He talks about the green pastures and still waters where God was leading him while he was going through it and how God was already preparing a table before his enemies in that very place. Why? Because he had faith that even though he was going through a dark valley, that God would bring him out of it. No matter what taunts or haunts you and no matter why, God is able to turn it around.

David wasn’t stalling… He was continuing to walk (yea) even though he was going through a dark spot and unknown valley. Nothing probably made sense, but He was determined not to stop, and he had faith in God to help bring him through it. Again: “Yea, though I walk through….” This was a man determined to not give up. We can and should ask God to direct our steps, but we must move our feet, or I should say “put our faith into action”, whatever that may be. He won’t do that part for us but He will be our guide, our ever present helper, and our inner strength.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8

Habbukak does the same. He had the attitude that although all this is happening, he got really determined that he would rejoice in the Lord anyway. He wrestled with it no doubt, but he finally got to the point that he was gonna exult in the God of his salvation. He knew that was his only hope. He knew that Who God was and WHOse he was.  He knew that God alone was Savior and only He could save, and he trusted that He would! He had to hope and trust. Where else could he go? Where else can we go?

Look at what he said in verse 19. The Lord is my Strength (my personal bravery and my invincible army). Again, sounds a lot like David in Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord was with David and would guide him. That’s what a Shepherd does. He is our strength and our guide. God tells Joshua to be strong and of good courage (brave)! Why? For one reason: “I am With you.” It’s not if we face the battle, but when. We all face hard times but God wants us to know that He is with us and that he calls us to be strong and courageous, or else we will be weak, discouraged and eventually defeated.

That’s a great promise and God promised to never leave or forsake us. We can take hope in that. Listen, the Shepherd’s job is to protect and save the sheep who can’t defend themselves. But we must follow Him or else we dart out of fear and go into danger. We must know the sound of His voice so that we can listen for Him to guide us through those scary places. Sheep aren’t controlled by the Shepherd or beat by him to follow in fear, but to be guided and brought back from where they’ve strayed. Sheep are flighty little animals and not always the smartest. They often get themselves in positions that they can’t get out of on their own. We all like sheep have gone astray and yet, The Father still loves us. We must have courage to believe that He won’t lead us astray and we are followers of faith.

Habbakuk said that the Lord makes his feet like hinds feet to walk on heights. In other words like a deer or an antelope that can climb on the rough and high spots, and quickly! We aren’t meant to always stay low and that sometimes requires climbing. God makes us agile and gives us the abilities to go on places we never thought we could go or climb. He makes us go to new heights and to rise above our circumstances, but know that if He keeps us low, it’s only for a season. He enables us to go high in order to protect us from danger and to feed on heights where our enemies can’t reach us. It feels like danger but it’s actually to protect us against harm. He makes us unafraid.

David was in a valley and Habakkuk was too. A spiritual battle was going on and it was dark, but he was gonna praise his way through. Habakkuk knew that the people were in a mess but that God would bring protection and correction, and provision again.

When we’re walking through the darkness, He is the light, and God gives us streams in our desert places. He puts us in positions to confound our enemies. It’s makes no sense, but that’s how God works. He is in the planting, bringing daylight to dark and bringing secret things done in the dark, to the light. Good things just take a little time. Habakkuk needed deliverance and help from his enemies, and He trusted God to come through.

We must have the attitude of these men. They may have been going through a deep dark valley, but they were going through. It didn’t matter why they were there, because that was behind them. It mattered how they were coming out. David wasn’t stopping until he got to the other side. We can’t slow down or lose faith. If we do, what’s the alternative? To lose hope and to be paralyzed by fear,  or to stand still in terror and let our enemy win? No! We must walk and go through it, and not stall. The only thing we must stand still for, is to see the salvation of the Lord. To stand in awe of what He will do. We walk by faith, even while we wait.

Do you trust Him to move in and through you and your situation?

Is He gonna catch you singing when the springtime comes?

It’s not anyone else who can do this for you or me but they can do it with us.

It’s not your closest companion, friend or family member that you depend on. It’s you. It’s me. We must depend on Him to see us through. We all gotta decide and we walk it out, knowing that He is with us and in us, to do what He’s promised to do.

He promised that He’d never leave or forsake us and He promised to work it all (good and bad, terrible or wonderful) out for our good and His glory. But, only to those who love Him and to those who are called and walking accordingly to His purpose. That’s good news. That’s a promise we can hold firm to. He’s not going anywhere!

The creator of the universe is with and within  you. You have His very power to overcome anything that you walk through. He is with you. Don’t let go of His hand. Yea, though….Jesus is still our comfort and guide and His love comforts and sees us through. He is the peace that we need in the middle of chaos, the comfort in the middle of turmoil and the light in the dark.

For a deeper dive into how God can take things and turn them around for His people, begin to read the book of Isaiah. It’s full of hope and promises of what God can and will do for those who obey and look to Him. It’s not so hopeful for those who don’t.

And they did not thirst When He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out. “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:21-22

You might not see it now, but you will. Hope in God. Trust in Him. He always finishes what He starts.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah Psalm 62:8