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I have.
These are difficult seasons to understand as a Christian. While we know that God's ways are higher than our ways and that His good purposes will ultimately prevail, it is still hard to make sense of these times in our lives.
The Bible sheds some light on these seasons, and I'd like to share the truth of God's Word with you today.
Habakkuk was a prophet of God, sent to the people of Judah before the Babylonians invaded and took them into exile. However Habakkuk's ministry was unique: rather than speaking to the people on God's behalf, he spoke to God on behalf of the people. The book of Habakkuk speaks to the human problem we have to understand God's ways.
In Habakkuk's third prayer, he expresses stalwart confidence in God, despite the people's unfavorable circumstances:
"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
Habakkuk recognizes that God is faithful and is to be praised, even when we are in the barren places in life. He goes on to reveal where his source of strength truly lies:
"The Lord my Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like those of a deer
and enables me to walk on mountain heights!" Habakkuk 3:19
But, dear friend, have you ever come through on the other side of a barren place? Have you ever seen a relationship flourish after a long season of drought and hurt and misunderstandings? Have you seen the blessings pour forth from a difficult situation, recognizing the rain of God's refreshing mercy and grace?
I have.
The book of Joel speaks to this. Joel was a prophet sent by God to motivate the people of Israel to repent before they were invaded and taken captive by Assyria. Most of his short book speaks to the coming of the "day of the Lord" when God will judge and seek vengeance. However, the end of the book speaks to God's response to His faithful remnant:
"I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate,
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust--
my great army that I sent against you.
You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.
You will praise the name of the Lord your God
who has dealt wondrously with you." Joel 3:25-26
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In truth, I am in both places right now. I am in the midst of a barren season with a dear friend of mine, where hurt and misunderstandings loom large and seem an impenetrable as a fortress. And I am relishing in the blessings of a once barren relationship, as we talk about motherhood and text pictures back and forth of good times we've recently shared.
I was recently talking with another friend of mine, expressing my desire to truly understand those barren years in my other relationships that have given way fruitful places. Ever the analyzer, I want to find the answers to questions like these: What was that, exactly? How did we get there? How did we move beyond it? She sighed and said that we can't really do that. Why? Because the other person may not even understand it, either. There are probably no words. We can't analyze it and process it so it fits our neat-and-tidy emotional categories. We need only accept what is, nourish it, and thank God for it. Scripture tells us the Enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The locusts may have eaten--and we may never know exactly why--but God has repaid it all. As Joel says, let us "praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you!"
In short, God is Lord of it all, dear friend. He is in control of the barren times and the restorative times, and may we trust Him and praise Him in the midst of BOTH! May He transform one into the other, as only He can. And may we grow in faith and awe of Him as we watch Him work in and through our lives, no matter the circumstance!
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