Devotions this week based on The Prophets Week 7 – Habakkuk (WATCH HERE)
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. (Habakkuk 3:18-19)
Today marks the 508th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 Theses or statements by which he desired to spark a debate on the selling of indulgences for the forgiveness of sins. This practice was providing money for the coffers of Rome and empty promises to the people who bought them.
Luther’s journey of faith had come to realize the truth that Habakkuk wrote of in 2:4, “the righteous will live by faith.” Rightness before God was not a work of effort, but rather a gift of God’s grace because of the work of Jesus Christ.
This truth freed Luther’s conscience and is still the heart of the confessional Lutheran church that we are assured of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, found in Scripture alone.
So freeing was this teaching that Luther put his life on the line to bring this truth of Scripture back to the center of the church’s teaching. While the Catholic Church and the papacy have yet to shift to this focus, the truth has been encouraging and comforting the hearts of many Christians for the past 508 years.
Living by faith is challenging. It means letting go of my control and putting my heart and life fully in God’s control. At the beginning of his oracle, Habakkuk had asked the questions of the Lord as to why wickedness continued or why a wicked nation would be used to bring justice to Judah. He was content to realize that with the Lord as his Savior and strength, the other externals of life were secondary in importance. The song he sings in Habakkuk 3 is reflective of this truth. The last two verses put what living by faith results in: Rejoicing in the LORD!
Even though judgment was coming, the economy would collapse, the crops would fail, and the livestock would die, he declares: “I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
This is not denial; it’s defiance of despair. Habakkuk’s joy is not in outcomes but in God Himself. The “sovereign Lord is my strength” (3:19).
Habakkuk began with complaints and confusion; he ends with confidence and praise. That is the transformation of faith.
Luther began with confusion and the crushing weight of guilt, he ends with confidence in the grace of God and praise for the goodness of God.
When we struggle with confusion over what God is doing or question why something is happening, remember the conclusion of Habakkuk: no matter what is happening around me, as I live by faith I can ALWAYS rejoice in the Lord and find strength in God my Savior!
Apply: Find peace in God’s promises even when life is uncertain. Remember God’s faithfulness endures even when physical strength fades. Faith doesn’t remove the storm — it anchors you through it. True joy doesn’t come from what we hold but from who holds us.
Prayer: Lord, even when the fields are empty and the plans fail, teach us to rejoice in You. Be our strength when we are weak, our joy when life is hard, and our salvation when all else fades. Help us live by faith, walk in hope, and sing with joy because You are enough. Amen.