(Part 24 in a series of posts on Habakkuk.)

Habakkuk 3:19

How do you exercise faith in God even in the worst of times?

1) Wait patiently for God even when you are afraid. (verse 16)

2) Choose to rejoice in God even when everything in life goes wrong. (verses 17-18)

3) Find strength in God to scale the heights even when you are down. (verse 19)

Look at verse 19: “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk had learned to find his strength in God, not in his own resources or ability. Habakkuk was about to go through some rough times. The thought of it scared him so much that his heart pounded and his legs trembled beneath him. Yet as he rejoiced in God in the midst of difficult circumstances, he found new strength from God to deal with the trial ahead.

What is this strength like that God gives you? Habakkuk said, “God makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk paints the picture of a female deer running on the heights of the mountains, steady and surefooted, uninhibited and unafraid, full of freedom and confidence as she scales the heights. Do you long to enter the higher places with God? Then find your strength in him alone. Trust God to lift you up when you are down.

There is an old devotional book based on this final verse in Habakkuk written by Hannah Hurnard called Hinds’ Feet on High Places. The word “hind” is an old English word for a female deer, so it refers to the feet of the deer on the heights. Hinds’ Feet on High Places is written as an allegory, similar to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progess. It tells the story of a girl named Much-Afraid and her own journey from doubt to faith. Her story begins as she leaves the Valley of Fear. It is all she has ever known, but in faith she embarks on a new journey. Her path is marked by much sorrow and suffering along the way, but through it all she learns to depend on God and to find her strength in him alone. And as she learns to trust God no matter what, he leads her to the higher places of fellowship with him that she has always longed for.

How do you exercise faith during the worst of times? Wait patiently for the Lord even when you are afraid. Choose to rejoice in God even when everything in life goes wrong. Find strength in God to scale the heights even when you are down.

(Looking ahead: Tomorrow we will wrap up the Blogging with Habakkuk series with one final post.)

Here are the links to the whole Blogging with Habakkuk series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.