16 I hear - and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. 17-18 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. 19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Habakkuk 3:16-19 English Standard Version

The prophet Habakkuk had caught a glimpse of the terribly dark years that many nations, including his own, were going to pass through at the hands of the Babylonians. But he'd also seen how the Babylonians themselves would be punished by the Lord for the havoc they had caused. Even so, this whole scenario of God's judgements then, which would unfold over many years, caused him to tremble all over with dread (as he vividly expresses in vs 16). In view of the horrors that lay ahead, what did he resolve to do? (vs 16)

He was not going to panic and despair, but would quiety wait for God's judgements to unfold. This included the last stage of that judgment when Israel's enemies, the Babylonians, would meet their fate. Many years before Habakkuk, the prophet Isaiah said something similar in speaking of God's judgments, firstly on Israel, but then upon Israel's enemies. Isaiah said: “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins.The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.” Isaiah 26:20-21

So it seems there are times when God's people have to quietly withdraw and patiently wait for God's purposes to unfold in the world around us. On one occasion Jesus said: “We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4. The news these days seems more and more to indicate that such a night might be drawing near to the world. Many Christians believe there will be a time of tribulation for the nations, climaxing in the final judgment at Christ's return. Some Christians hope that a 'secret rapture' of believers will mean they won't experience this tribulation. My understanding, though, is that we will indeed pass through all the years leading up to Christ's return. There’s a sense in which we will need to patiently wait till that day happens. And there may be times when we will need to 'hide ourselves for a little while'.

Does that sound very negative and depressing? It certainly was for Habbakuk. Yet, apart from quietly waiting for God's purposes to unfold, what else did he resolve to do? (vs 17-18)

Those of us living in cities may not fully grasp the rural picture that Habbakuk paints in those verses. In our case we may need to say 'though the supermarket shelves are empty and basic foods are being rationed; though there’s no fuel at the pumps and gas and electricty are in desperate short supply; though the things that gave us security and comfort are vanishing in the land, YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD; I WILL TAKE JOY IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION.” And the reason we can do that is because, as Habbakuk says in vs 19, God, the Lord, is our strength. It is God who can put a spring in our step when circumstances are difficult and the future looks bleak.

It looks to me that this was a conscious action of Habbakuk. He may not have ‘felt’ on top of the world, but, by faith, he chose to take delight in God and not let the troubles of the world take his eyes off the One who gave him strength for each day. I think we’ll need to do that a lot in the next few years. Notice too that Habakkuk arranged to put these things as a hymn. A man in the Bible, named Job, once said: “People cry out when they're oppressed. They groan beneath the power of the mighty. Yet they don’t ask, ‘Where is God my Creator, the one who gives songs in the night?” He was right. Let's keep our eyes on the One who gives us songs in the night, rather than on the latest gloomy news headlines.