DEVOTION//God my Savior

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 EHV).

Perhaps this Thanksgiving seems very short on reasons for thanksgiving. Perhaps these last months seem like bud-less fig trees or a grape-less vines. 2020 has been a year of unimagined challenges and frustrations.

A Facebook meme suggested as much. It said, “When 2020 ends, we must never talk about it again.”

Rejoice and be joyful

Yet the Prophet Habakkuk insists that even in the face of imminent starvation because the entire crop has failed and because there is no chance the economy will rebound in the future, he will rejoice in the LORD [and] will be joyful in God my Savior.

Why? Look again at the final two words from the prophet. My Savior.

Yesha

The Hebrew word for “my Savior” is yesha. It means deliverance, rescue, salvation, safety, welfare. It is at the root of Jesus’ Hebrew name. In English we call the Savior Jesus. But when Mary shouted for Jesus to come home for supper, she would have called him Yeshua, Savior.

Habakkuk insists he can rejoice and be joy-filled in the face of utter disaster because the LORD, his God, promised Yeshua was coming to earth. Because of the promise, God his Savior had already forgiven all his sins and had given him a place at his throne in heaven. That proved that God his Savior could do him no harm. Even if all he could see was calamity, his faith in God his Savior demanded he trust in God’s care.

God our Savior has made the same commitment to us. Even if 2020 has been a year of fields without crops for you, rejoice in the LORD, be joyful in God [your] Savior. The Yeshua he sent us guarantees even the worst life brings can only produce blessings for us here and hereafter.