Choosing to Trust

BY JORDAN MAYER

“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)

We have all experienced those days where it seems like nothing is going right. Maybe something unexpected happens in the morning that alters the trajectory of your day. Maybe it’s something from yesterday or the week prior that continues to fester unresolved. It could be a heated exchange with a friend or loved one. It might be a major disappointment or a series of small, but agonizing annoyances.

This past week I had "a week" at work. Beginning first thing Monday morning, I was hit with one crisis or disappointment after another. After a few days of this, I found myself burned out, depressed, and discouraged. It’s days like this that you feel like shutting the curtains, pulling up the covers, and going back to bed.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I often go for a noontime walk on the trails next to work. On Wednesday, being particularly buried in the day’s to-do’s, I contemplated skipping the walk and continuing to work. Yet, knowing my current state of mind, I decided (or was prompted) to step away and take a walk. As I walked the meandering path, I began to pray and unload my burdens before the Lord. All the built up frustrations, disappointments, and unhappiness flowed out like the breaking of a dam.

It was in that very moment that I realized I had a decision to make. When everything seemed to be going wrong that week, was I still going to trust God? Was I still going to believe that He is good and is working good in my life?

How easy it is to rejoice when the work week is smooth, or the checking account is full, or the family is all getting along. But when all this is stripped away, it quickly becomes evident where we have placed our hope. When life is supremely bad, will we still trust and believe that He is still supremely good? This is the moment we decide that despite all the disappointments of this broken, sinful world, yet we will rejoice in the Lord. Yet, we will take joy in the God of our salvation. 

Rejoicing is in the Lord. Joy is in the God of our salvation. 

Habakkuk came to this realization in his day, at a time when life for the people of Israel was most certainly not good. He was in great turmoil in his heart over the devastating judgment from Israel’s enemies. He begins by questioning, but ends by trusting. He resolves to rejoice and find joy, not in circumstances, but in the God of his salvation.

As I walked back into the office, my heart rejoiced and my joy was restored. Though my circumstances had not changed, I was reminded that my hope lies in my good and great God.

Whatever burdens lie on your heart or disappointments fill up your mind, choose today to rejoice in the Lord and take joy in the God of your salvation. Taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)