“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. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”
I’ll never forget a certain birthday for one of my sons. He had researched and planned for months on end to come up with what he wanted on his birthday. For months he dropped subtle and not so subtle hints about what he wanted. One day as his actual birthday drew near; he came to me with a smile and tender eyes and said, “Dad, if you get this for me, you won’t have to get me another gift until my next birthday!” To which I replied, “Son, if I get you this gift, this will take care of your next several birthday’s, Christmas and whatever else you might choose to celebrate.” Well, I ended up getting him the gift and he claimed that from that moment on that I never had to get him anything else and to top it off, that I was the best dad in the entire world!It seems to be easy give praise and adoration when our cup is full, when our circumstances are good and healthy; not so easy when the well is dry and our circumstances find us on the pinky toe of our last leg.
Throughout the journey that the Lord has brought my family through, we have found great comfort and encouragement in the verses above. How easy it is to say, “Thank you, Jesus”, “Praise God,” “God is good,” when times are good? When all of the bills are paid and everyone is healthy and our jobs are going really well it’s not difficult to give God praise. When all of our friends think we are great and our spouses “rise and call us blessed” and our children are the better than the Cosby kids, it’s easy to say, “God is good”. But what happens when our world is shattered and it seems that all hope is gone? Is God still good? Is His faithfulness still great? Can we still proclaim that our hope is in Him? The answer, even in the “dark of our circumstantial night” is YES!
Praising God in the good season is wonderful and right, but the reality is that often, praise demands a sacrifice. A sacrifice that flows from an empty heart and hand; a sacrifice that proclaims, “though He slays me, I will still praise Him”. Because God’s goodness is not determined by what’s in my bank account, because God’s faithfulness is not determined by what condition my health is in, because God’s sovereignty is not determined by what my circumstances look like, because God’s love is not determined or diminished by His silence at the time, we can in any and every situation give Him praise and be joyful. But that praise and joy come, not from things getter better, rather by a choice of the heart to trust Him even though we cannot see Him, to believe His Word even though we cannot hear Him and to praise Him even if we cannot utter a word. Why…because He is worthy.
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