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Habakkuk 3:16-19
I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
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,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
New International Version (NIV)
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When all of life caves in, what then? Too many times over the last 37 years I have walked into the life of a person whose world has just fallen apart. What does one say when another person’s life has been changed, instantly, forever? Mabel and Lew lost a son in a Texas prison. James, son of Jimmy and Betsy and big brother of Johnny was lost in his teens to Meningitis. No one is exempt. No matter who we are, or how good life is, we are one phone call from our knees.
This is not new. The prophet Habakkuk was mystified, mortified and horrified. The fierce Babylonian army threatened God’s own people. God chose to use evil people to judge the evil among his own people. “Unthinkable,” said Habakkuk. “You are better than that,” he said to God (1:12-13). He asked God why he would use wicked people to judge his own people. God told him to wait for the vision and then to write it clearly when it came. Though he never reconciles himself to evil, Habakkuk knows that he will rejoice in God, even when all of life caves in.
Shortly after the awful events of 9/11, the stock market crashed. Fortunes were lost. Panic prevailed. As I prepared to preach the following Sunday, these verses came to me. Disciples of Jesus trust God so much that even the loss of wealth and/or health drive us closer to God. Often we are unable to celebrate the events of life which shock and startle us. But even on the worst day of our lives, God is still God. When we place God at the center of life, we find that we become unshakable. Come what may, today, we celebrate our God and his saving power. He will give us the strength to go where we have never gone before. We can trust him, forever. Will we?
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Pray with me: Father, some day, sooner or later, the phone call will come. All that we had counted on will be stripped away. We will question all that we know about you. On that day, Lord, especially on that day, let us put our full confidence in you. Be the center of our lives and keep us centered in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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| This year we focus our Every Day with Jesus readings on Jesus’ story. With references to Tallowood's Read Through the Bible in 2018 daily reading plan, let's focus our undivided attention on Jesus and follow where he lead. He will not fail. Neither will we!
Joyfully,
Duane
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