Habakkuk 3:17-19 says, “When the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines; when the olive trees do not produce, and the fields yield no crops; when the sheep disappear from the pen, and there are no cattle in the stalls, I will rejoice because of the LORD; I will be happy because of the God who delivers me! The sovereign LORD is my source of strength” (NET)
Habakkuk describes a pretty dismal scenario. The fig trees, grape vines and olive trees all show no fruit. The fields are bare and the sheep and cattle have disappeared. Even after all this he declares that he will rejoice in God because He is the source of his strength.
Do you find yourself in a place where all the things that are needed to sustain yourself seem to be lost? In these shaky economic times it is easy to find oneself in a precarious situation. If we look to worldly things for our comfort we are headed for depression and failure. We need to look to God because we need Him to be the source of our strength. The words ‘rejoice’ and ‘be happy’ can also translate as leap and spin for joy. If our faith and trust is in God, He will provide us a foundation that cannot be shaken.
Seeds
If someone gave me a package of mixed seeds and asked me to guess what kind of plant would grow from each seed, that is what I would have to do, guess. I would have no way of knowing.
Seeds amaze me. You put this dead seed into the ground, add water and a plant grows. Nutrients are taken from the soil and turned into a plant. The seed that we plant does not look anything like the plant that grows. It all starts with a dead seed.
The same is true of Christians as we pass from this world. Our dead body is put into the ground and our resurrected body that enters heaven will be quite different. “You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don’t look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.” (1 Corinthians 15:38, The Message)
Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will receive that new resurrected body when they die and enter heaven. We cannot earn that body, it is a reward for our belief and faith in Jesus.
May 26/09
Burdens
Do you sometimes find yourself needlessly carrying heavy burdens? Many of us do. Once we realize our problem, it is still often difficult to know how to get out from under them.
The first part of Psalms 55:22 gives us some sound advice. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee.” (KJV) The word ‘cast’ does not mean simply to give them to God or throw them in His direction. It literally means to throw out or throw away. That is what we are to do with those burdens, throw them away as if they were garbage.
Many of us find that difficult to do. It seems as if they are tied to our hands with a rope. When we throw them away, they never really leave us and we eventually pull them back. That is why we need to throw them away as if they were garbage. That is one thing that we do not want to pull back to ourselves. Don’t ask God if He will take them from you. Give them to Him and then tell Him you are done with them and never want them back, ever.
If we can do this, then God will sustain us or provide sustenance for us on all levels; physical, spiritual and emotional.
