FRIENDS, HAPPY JUNE!
We are exploring God’s promises as we journal through the Bible this year. We have already engraved more than 130 of God’s promises if you started working with us in January. We’ll learn about thirty more of God’s promises in Scripture this month.
One of the verses we are journaling this month is Habakkuk 3:19. Let’s examine this promise together.
Habakkuk 3:19 – The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
Background
The book of Habakkuk is the 8th book of the 12 minor prophets of the Bible. It is thought to be composed between 612 and 589 B.C. The original text was written in Hebrew.
The book of Habakkuk was written originally intended for the people of Judah (the Southern Kingdom). Babylon was rising to become the leading world power and Judah would soon feel its destructive force.
A Peculiar Prophet
We don’t know much about the prophet Habakkuk from any other book of the Bible. Since he prophesied the coming destruction of Judah by the Babylonian army, he prophesied sometime before the invasion. We can guess it was most likely during the 25-year period when Babylon conquered Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire (612 B.C.) and the time when Babylon conquered Jerusalem (587 B.C.).
Why is Habakkuk important?
It provides us with an extended dialogue between Habakkuk and God (1:2). The prophet initiated his conversation based on his distress about God’s “inaction” in the world. It depicts a frustrated prophet, similar to Jonah, but unlike Jonah, Habakkuk chose to express his dissatisfaction to God via prayer and eventually praise.
What’s the Purpose?
The prophet Habakkuk must have been perplexed as he stood in Jerusalem and considered the condition of his country, Judah. While so much evil flourished openly, God oddly stayed silent. Where did He go? How much longer will He let this disaster go on? Not for a long time, declares the Lord (Habakkuk 2:2-3). The Babylonians, a different country, would invade and carry out justice for the Lord. Judah’s wicked people who believed they might continue to commit crimes without consequence would shortly face punishment.
While the godly live by faith in God, the book of Habakkuk paints a picture of a proud nation being humbled (2:4). It serves as a reminder that even though God may appear distant and uninvolved in our world, He always has a strategy in place to deal with injustice and always brings about justice. Believers are encouraged through Habakkuk’s example to wait on the Lord, trusting that He will, in fact, work all things together for good (Romans 8:28).
How do I apply this to my life?
Habakkuk questioned God with the same kind of query that so many of us have considered: ” Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance?” (1:3). Each of us has witnessed proof of evil in our daily lives. All of us have been affected by it. And at varying states of healing, we still have scars. We are frequently discouraged by our bad decisions and our fallen world, feeling as though we are imprisoned in a dark jail of our own design and surrounded by evil. The book of Habakkuk, however, teaches us that no area is too dark and no wall too high for God’s grace from working powerfully and positively in our lives.
Habakkuk 3:19
The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
Only after praying the prayer of faith in the preceding verses was Habakkuk in a position to make this declaration. He correctly asserted that the only source of his strength was the LORD God, not fig trees, vines, farms, or sheep.
Habakkuk imagined the deer scurrying about on the lofty hills, without stumbling or losing their footing. More than that, the deer actually hop and dance on the hills; they are joyful and full of life. He makes reference to Psalms 18:32-33 reminding himself that God would both feed and preserve his life. He knew that God would guide him so that he wouldn’t stray, bless his endeavors, and bless the fruit of his labor.
You can download/print a copy of the June Scripture Journaling Plan here:
https://charitymaeprosper.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/JS-June.pdf
References:
- https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/habakkuk-1/
- https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-minor-prophets/habakkuk
- https://ttb.org/resources/study-guides/habakkuk-study-guide
- Life Application Study Bible
