YET....I WIll Be Joyful!

         Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Not yet?  Well, drink up so that you will be sensitive to God’s joy gifts throughout the day!

           In Habakkuk 3:17-18, we read a portion of Habakkuk’s pray. He was lamenting, yet pledging his commitment to God.

           

17  Though the fig tree should not blossom
         And there be no fruit on the vines,
         Though the yield of the olive should fail
         And the fields produce no food,
         Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
         And there be no cattle in the stalls,

18  Yet I will exult in the LORD,
         I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

          Maybe we can understand that passage better if we were to put it in today’s terminology:

Though I have lost my job or do not have a salary that meets my expenses… Though I’m not sure where my next meal will come from or how I’m going to pay my bills… Though my health is failing… though my children are wayward . ….YET I will praise the Lord and rejoice because I know that He has granted me salvation in Him, and that is truly the most important thing.              As Paul says in Philippians 1:21…..”even if I die…..it will be GAIN…because I will be with Jesus for eternity. Remember his words: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

            Do we trust God like Habakkuk and Paul?  He’s the same God; He remains faithful through the ages; and He is the Giver of all good gifts. That includes the gift of joy!