God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. Genesis 21:6
Are you currently going through a difficult time in your life? We cry to God asking how long must we endure the pain, how long will it be until we can feel relief? When we are hurting, joy seems like a foreign concept... an ideal to be reached. Habakkuk was one such man to experience joy in the midst of a difficult time in his personal life, as well as the lives of the Judean people. Having envisioned the devastation and despair of the Judeans as a result of the Babylonian invasion, Habakkuk trembled in fear. Habakkuk was scared. Yet as he describes what he envisioned for the Judeans, he speaks of the joy he feels in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:17-19). His prayer was not based on his circumstance, and it did not matter if God delivered the Judeans or not, Habakkuk would always rejoice in the Lord! The wonderful paradox of faith is the amazing joy we can experience when circumstances seem to be at their worst. Just as Habakkuk decided to surrender his fears to the Lord and wait, you, too, should place your confidence and faith in the God of your salvation no matter what the circumstance.- Bible Readings for the Week Ahead:
- Monday: Habakkuk 3:17-19
- Tuesday: Psalm 19:7-10
- Wednesday: Isaiah 43:1-2
- Thursday: Psalm 90:14-17
- Friday: Psalm 119: 105-112
- Saturday: Romans 12:11-12
- Sunday: Hebrews 1:9
