17 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 a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
The deer crossing signs I see in Michigan have the deer starting a jump over some unseen hedge-row; I've seen plenty of deer during my half-century as a Michigander, but I've yet to see one do that.
Habakkuk seems ready to do that as he closes his lament on a positive note. He's taking a page from Job, praising God regardless of getting any fruit from his faith in Him.
That reminds me of an old Margaret Becker song, For the Love of You, "not for what it brings." That runs counter to the prosperity-pushers who don't have a good reply to the folks who might have a solid faith but yet are "down on their luck." However, it is true nonetheless; the world does give us trouble, and Jesus has overcome the world, but that doesn't always translate into soaring over the trouble in our own Lear jet.
We shouldn't be following God because of the reward of doing so; that makes us spiritual mercenaries.
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