A Desperate Faith

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.
Habakkuk 3:17-18

Sounds like desperate times, doesn't it? But more than desperation, I hear an unmovable faith speaking. A faith that can still rejoice though the world seems to falling apart. Joy . . . not in the desolate circumstances . . . but in the God who sees it all and IS IN CONTROL!

I need to remember that - especially when I hear or read the news! And God does His part in reminding me.

Just this morning I read the words below in Streams in the Desert. Although written many years ago by Rev. S. Chadwick, the message couldn't be more relevant for today.

Faith for desperate days! The Bible is full of such days. Its record is made up of them, its songs are inspired by them, its prophecy is concerned with them, and its revelation has come through them. . . . In every story of deliverance, the point of desperation gave God His chance. The "wit's end" of desperation was the beginning of God's power. Recall the promise of seed as the stars of heaven . . . to a couple who were as good as dead. Read again the story of the Red Sea . . . Study once more the prayers of Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, when they were sore pressed and knew not what to do . . . Stand with awe in the darkness of Gethsemane, and linger by the grave in Joseph's garden through those terrible days. Call the witnesses of the early Church, and ask the apostles the story of their desperate days.
Desperation is better than despair.
Faith did not make our desperate days. Its work is to sustain and solve them. The only alternative to a desperate faith is despair. Faith holds on and prevails.

O God, our Help in ages past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Our Shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal Home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

~Isaac Watts (1674-1748)