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.
Hope is a window to the future, allowing you to see what you cannot see with your own eyes.
Hope is a virtue that must be cultivated. We are not born with inbuilt resilience to remain positive at all times. Disappointment brings distress. Hope looks beyond the present into the future with the lens of optimism. Prophet Habakkuk in his short 3 chapter prophetic utterance, pouts, groans and questions God but he realizes that lamenting only makes his situation worse. Hence he concludes his prophecy on an encouraging note that changed the landscape of his poetic prophecy. His eyes witnessed devastation and defeat yet the lens of hope changed the fabric of his dialect.
The deliverance of the Israelite from the hands of the tormenter Pharaoh was like escaping from the Nazi camp. Every move of Pharaoh to persecute the Hebrew slaves was horrifying. As Moses the deliverer started his ‘freedom talks’ with the Pharaoh, the situation turned from bad to worse. Pharaoh said, “Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” (Exodus 5:9). Yet the Lord back-slashed the brutal scourge of Pharaoh with devastating plagues until Egypt was ruined. “Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?” (Exodus 10:7). The Hebrew slaves were unjustly mistreated but God Himself fought for His children. God changed the colours in the canvas of Egypt and impoverished it to deliver His children.
Hope is the lens that magnifies God’s promises over the hopeless predicaments:
1. Pandemic: Impending recession, increasing inflation, downward economic trend have gripped the present generation with fear and fret. God’s children were satisfied with divine provision in the midst of the destructive plague. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. (Exodus 9:7). The barns of Egypt were empty while the flock of the Israelites was multiplying. We flourish during a pandemic.
2. Paucity: The price of petrol and the products on the shelves of the supermarkets are skyrocketing. There are countries where inflation has gone up by double, even triple digits! But the earning capacity has remained the same or even has had a downward trend, yet, the rulebook is different for God’s children who are under His shelter. Hail struck and destroyed the fields in Egypt but the suburb that the Israelites lived in was protected. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were (Exodus 9:26). We will remain fruitful even in a plague.
3. Pout: The devil can’t hear our thoughts but he can hear our words. When we praise instead of pouting, the demonic world will be puzzled. Defeat hopelessness with praise. Cultivate and nurture hope.
The lens of hope looks over the problems into the promises of God.
Habakkuk 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Prayer: Father God, I praise thee for we will flourish even when the world is famished. Amen.
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