Though I enjoy writing, there is a part of me that doesn’t want to these days. I think the reason is because recent days, weeks, and months have just weighed so incredibly heavy on our hearts. Events happening not only close to home but also in the homes of those we know and care about, and even with those we only know indirectly through shared friends—there is so much to be sad about. And while that may be the reason why I don’t feel like writing, perhaps it is also the very reason why I should write, at least for my own sake.
After all, biblical authors experienced existential crises and heavy hearts in their days, and yet they still wrote, right? In fact, that’s probably one of the reasons so many people are drawn to books like the Psalms, given the raw emotional awareness and connection contained throughout. There was real pain and heartache and challenges for these biblical writers, and yet, they were still led to reflect and write even during those times.
Maybe the biblical writers too didn’t feel like writing, but maybe, as they were being led by the Spirit, they realized that the medium of writing was actively directing their thoughts to a higher plane of reasoning and emotion. Maybe it was a way to prevent being overwhelmed in grief or self-pity and to be reminded that while the heartache and sadness are all too real, there is another reality coming, an eternal weight of glory that they know exists, even if that reality was only barely visible at the time.
Habakkuk’s Suffering
Maybe that is part of the reason Habakkuk wrote the way he did. Here we have a prophet who was doing some real existential wrestling with the events of his day. Someone who recognized God’s providential control over and through suffering and still pleaded with the Lord for things to be different. Someone who, in the end, learned the hard way what it meant to experience first-hand loss of food, health, home, and country while still finding cause to celebrate and take joy in God.
Maybe the medium of writing poetry helped to direct Habakkuk’s thoughts and feelings to the higher plane of being able to take joy in God despite the unjoyful circumstances surrounding him. Maybe writing Habakkuk 3:17-18 allowed the prophet to speak to his own downcast soul and draw his attention to the same reality we need today. Habakkuk writes,
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!” – Habakkuk 3:17-18
I appreciate Habakkuk not minimizing the situation—things were bad, and he called them out as being bad. But that doesn’t stop him from completing the exercise of recognizing that while there is a list of bad things happening, there is another reality that is unshaken by these circumstances and joy can be found in this reality even now.
Habakkuk’s Template For Us
Habakkuk’s poem is great not only because it reminds us of an important theological truth that can anchor us during difficult seasons, but also because it gives us a template to write ourselves. We can transpose the things that are weighing so heavy on our hearts into the template of verse 17 to help remind ourselves of the joy to be found even now despite these things. So, exchanging Habakkuk’s circumstances with my own list looks something like this:
“Though my wife has cancer and is undergoing an aggressive chemo treatment, though life and work are complicated from the pandemic and I fear for the health of my family from COVID, though cultural injustice for minority groups surrounds us and the value and dignity that comes from bearing God’s image isn’t valued in all persons …”
… yet I will celebrate in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! (v.18)
“Though the pandemic disrupted my kids’ school schedule and prevented my oldest son from performing in his first school musical, though it upended our summer expectations and made our kids miss out on highly anticipated events, though it now continues to jeopardize our upcoming school year and is the cause for the uncertainty we are facing with what is the best decision for us moving forward …”
… yet I will celebrate in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! (v.18)
“Though we face real emotional and physical pain in this season and certainty about the future eludes us, though we miss gathering in person with our church and feel physically cut off from many of our friends and family, though we are faced with the daily reminder that life is fleeting and circumstances are outside of our control …”
… yet I will celebrate in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! (v.18)
Using Scripture as a template for us to write and organize our own heartaches will not only remind us of a better reality to come, but also the joy that can be had even now as we celebrate the God who saves. So, what does verse 17 look like in your life today? How would you fill out the template? Maybe in doing so you, too, will be reminded of the joy we have despite these hard days.