Joy

Do you know the difference between Joy and Happiness? How do you describe the difference?

Happiness is the feeling you get when everything is going your way.

Joy is the feeling of knowing in the midst of it all your God is bigger and will get you through it. It is the thing that gives you the strength to laugh through pain. It is the hope that comes in the midst of heartache. It is the one thing that pulls you into God's arms to find comfort when there is nothing else left to grasp on to.

^{Habakkuk 3:17} 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,

¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.

Joy requires Faith. Do you believe that through your struggle God can be glorified? Habakkuk understood that through the turmoil His people were going to be brought back into God's graces.

I challenge you. Look at how you handle disaster in your life. Are you complaining to God and looking for the answers? Or do you complain to everyone who will listen and continue to live in despair? God has answers, promises and a plan to find joy in. Are you looking in the right places for those answers? In the midst of your calamity are you finding joy in the promises?

Do you show the world a life of misery lived for God or a life of overcoming lived for God?

Please continue to pray for Sue O this week. Also, please send along any prayer requests to share for Friday.

A Plan

Do you ever find yourself in need of a plan? Something that says A, B and C are going to happen in just that order and it is going to work out exactly the way it should. I do. I like a good plan. I know how to prepare and pack and dress, etc.....

I think that is why Habakkuk had so many questions for God. He just couldn't see the plan. In the midst of struggle and hardship, it can be extraordinarily difficult to see through to the end. As Christians we look around and wonder, why so much evil, why so much hate, why so much dislike for our Creator.

^{Habakkuk 2:3} For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay.

God made a promise to Habakkuk, a plan was in motion.

There was a plan when God sent His son to die for us. Justification and Redemption.

Just as His promise to Habakkuk, God promises us relationship with Him. It may not be pretty to get there but He loves us enough to make the sacrifice. Do we love Him enough to trust in the plan?

Please continue to pray for Sue O

Answers

Do you ever ask a question you really don't want to hear the answer to. I don't know if Habakkuk expected a real answer or not but he got one.

^{Habakkuk 1: 6} I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwelling places not their own.

Now, wait just a minute. Did God just say He was raising these people up? Justice doesn't always come in the answer we want. Judah had become corrupt and separated its self from God once again.

Often times God wants nothing more than to point you back in His direction. Sometimes He uses the consequences of our own choices to show us His face. Sometimes He uses the things in life that seem so overwhelming and wicked so that we can learn to rely on Him.

God so desperately wants a relationship with His people. Who are we to judge the methods He uses to get our attention?

^{Habakkuk 2:1} I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Are you waiting for the answers to your complaints? Be patient God will answer you. He hears your cries and He has a plan.

Please pray for Sue O this week.

Complaints

Life is often unfair. It is often unjust. It is often so frustrating that we call to God for answers with questions that judge His methods.

^{Habakkuk 1: 2}How long, O LORD, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, "Violence!"
Yet You do not save.
³Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, destruction and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
⁴Therefore the law is ignored
And justice is never upheld
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out perverted.

There is no doubt that Habakkuk lived at a time of destruction. In our own lives it can often feel as though things are out of control. It may seem as though we are watching a terrible movie and want to just turn the channel to the happy stuff. Why God do you make me see the awful things?

It can be so hard when we don't see the big picture. It tears at our hearts to be in the midst of pain and frustration. How many times in your life have you come through the other side of the hardship? Are you stronger? Is God stronger in your life? Are you willing to admit your weakness in the midst of struggle and rely on God's plan and strength?

Please pray for Sue O this week.