recent thoughts.

"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

Around April, I listened to a podcast by Matt Chandler on these two verses, and
today it still rings true.

He started off by saying that when a fig tree produces fruit, next to that fruit, there's a blossom. So not only are there not figs, there isn't any blossoms either... In other words, "today stinks and tomorrow doesn't look any better."
And if there aren't any crops in the field this year, that means there's no seed for a crop next year... He goes on to talk about the herds, and in his words, "if there isn't a lot of love in the stalls, you don't have any more cattle coming."

such a picture of desperation.
when i first read this verse, i felt like the story was over.
the end.
but the beautiful thing is... it's not.

habakkuk says the words that i pray i can joyfully repeat in
my own moments of pain and despair:
yet STILL i will rejoice in the Lord...

lately, i've been praying that i will live a life where my worship of the Lord is not dependent upon my circumstances or emotions.
because otherwise, that's just cherishing the creation over the Creator.


"when wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest... the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring."
-Charles spurgeon