I will take joy
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. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. - Habakkuk 3:17-19
I emerged from this past January limping and brokenhearted. My body felt weak and frustrated, not truly having exercised in weeks because of a troublesome cough that has persisted since getting COVID 7 weeks ago. My heart felt sick and burdened over relational conflict within my church family that I never expected. My spirit felt unmotivated and weary - it was hard to get out of bed to have solitude with the LORD, and I felt the impact of it in the way I was seeing the world and relating to those closest to me.
But a few days ago, I realized that even in the midst of a hard season, where health and joy were hard to come by, that ultimately I had to make a decision. A decision to take small steps to pursue a healthy and integrated life today. If I waited until my circumstances made it natural to be joyful, I would be missing out on so much that was before me.
Because sometimes, joy does not come naturally. Like Habakkuk, we need to decide to take joy in the God of our salvation.
So that morning, after turning on my alarm clock, I decided that, more than I wanted to crawl back into a warm bed and sleep longer, that I wanted to live close to my God who is all that I want and need. And I knelt down at the edge of my bed to pray and surrender all the junk on my heart to Him. To confess my weakness and take hold of His strength. I did some Christian yoga that stilled my heart and loosened all the tension I was holding in my muscles.
If you're in that place today, where nothing in your life seems to be blooming, where you're not seeing the fruit of your labors, where joy seems impossible - I encourage you, friend, to decide to take joy in your Savior in one small way today. Whether it's just stilling yourself, taking a deep breath, and remembering the reality that God has made it possible for you to rejoice today because He is near. He is for you. He loves you, like actually loves you. He's adopted you. And He gives you every measure of grace that you need today.
