I’m reading Anne Frank’s diary for the first time. She and her family were hiding from the Nazis in a house and describes what it was like. The condition was getting progressively worse as the war went on, and they were all eagerly waiting for the war to be over. At one point, Anne mentions how blessed they are though compared to the Jews who weren’t living in a hideout. How they were treated by the Nazis, facing death daily..

I guess feeling “blessed” is relative. You can still feel blessed even when you are holed up in a house and not be able to go out indefinitely. As I thought about my life in the U.S. – being able to go anywhere I please anytime, never lacking food, clothes, and shelter – I am beyond blessed!

But what if everything was taken away from us? What if we had to live confined to a hideout, not knowing when our freedom will be granted back to us? What will give us joy then?

“Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” 

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Habakkuk was in that gloomy and dire condition. Everything was going wrong. But the source of his joy did not change. God was still there.

What a great asset this was for Habakkuk. Even though he lost everything, nothing was going his way, he found joy in God. This is clearly supernatural. We would not be able to experience this until everything was taken away from us as well. Not that I wish for it, but one thing I know is that even when things are not going our way, we can rejoice in God our King, for He is our salvation

God is your salvation. He will deliver you. Hope in Him!

PH