WITH GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN

 

 

Mountain Deer

Kay Warren is the wife of Pastor Rick Warren the author of the one of the best-selling book the purpose driven life.  Their 27 year old son Matthew committed suicide after struggling with mental illness for years. In what would have been Matthew’s 29th birthday Kay wrote, “On July 18, 1985, I gave birth to Matthew; holding him in my arms that morning, I had no idea how dark the journey would get for him and for those who love him. On that bright morning I could see nothing ahead but a mother's dreams of a good life for her son.

On Easter 1985 I was sick in bed with the TV remote by my side as my only companion. Somehow I dropped the remote and couldn't retrieve it. Full of anxiety and fear for myself and my unborn child, I painfully reached for my Bible and it fell open to Habakkuk 3: 17-19 (NIV): "Though the fig tree does not bud …I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength."

This was a word from the Lord to me and I determined that even IF my worst nightmares came true , if my baby died, or I never walked again  that I would rejoice in the Lord. Matthew was born and everything seemed fine. But by his second and third birthdays, we knew he wasn't like his siblings. When he took his life after fighting so hard for decades, a friend sent me Habakkuk 3:17-19 in a sympathy card. She had no idea this passage was incredibly significant to me, but it was a fitting "bookend" to his life. 

I had feared for years that he would take his life, it had become his greatest pursuit and my deepest anguish. I had to come to the point in which I said as I had 27 years before - "Even if my worst nightmare comes true and he takes his life “I will be joyful in God my Savior."  Today I shout it to the watching universe “I will be joyful in God my Savior”. My heart remains battered, but my faith is steady. God is faithful to his promises of rebuilding and restoring the ruins.”

The first chapter of the book of Habakkuk the prophet was disappointed with God for apparently failing to deal with the sins. In Habakkuk 3 the whole tone of the book changes, Habakkuk moves from confusion to clarity and from fear to faith. Why did his heart change between chapter 1 and 3? The prophet wrongly accused God of failing to act justly. He was wrong!  God’s revelation of Himself in chapters 2 and 3 set the record straight.

Chapter 3 starts with a prayer “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord”, repeat them in our day, in our time make them known. In wrath remember mercy” (1-2).In the face of impending calamity, Habakkuk prays for God to manifest his mighty power in again. Sometimes we wonder if God can do in our time what he did in the Bible days. The answer is, he is the same God! He can do it again any time, any place. Habakkuk also knew of God’s ability to destroy his enemies completely so he pleads for mercy in the midst of judgment.

After this prayer Habakkuk had a vision of God (verses 3-12). It’s as if God says, “Habakkuk, you’ve forgotten who I am. You’re talking as if I don’t have any power. Let me show you who I am.” In the vision the prophet saw God’s glory “his radiance was like the sunlight”; then he adds “there is the hiding of his power”. God told Moses “you shall see my back but my face shall not be seen” (Ex. 33:18-23). Habakkuk also saw God’s mighty power demonstrated in his dealings with his creation.

Habakkuk recounted God’s activity in the past. Verses 13-15 focuses on the defeat of Pharaoh at the Red Sea “You came out to deliver your people…You crushed the leader… you stripped him from head to foot. With his own spear you pierced his head…You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters”. Here we see utter defeat of God’s enemies and his determination to deliver his people.  If you have such a big God, you can sleep well every night. Just recall the wonderful things you have seen or heard God did in the past.

In Verses 17-18 Habakkuk foresaw the Judean country side desolate either from Babylonian invasion or natural calamity. The fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, the fields produce no food, there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls. This is not just a random list. Ancient Israel was an agricultural society. If you ran out of figs, olives, grapes, grain, sheep, and cattle, you were in big trouble. He saw a total wipe out, all investments disappeared and the safety net failed.

It is easy to trust in God when the fields are producing food and you have plenty of cattle in reserve. The blossoms on the fig tree and the grapes forming on the vine represent your future hopes. Do you ever feel like saying, “God, please just give me a sign, some type of hope that things are going to change” What do you do when all that you are counting on suddenly comes crumbling down around you? What do you do when you suffer bitter disappointments in life?”

Habakkuk affirmed that even if everything he relied on failed and he had no visible sign of hope for the future, yet “I will rejoice in the Lord.” The word “rejoice” literally means to dance for joy. But how was this possible? Habakkuk’s peace and joy were no longer dependent upon his circumstances. There was no joy in the fig tree or vines yet God still remained the same. In His time, God would deliver the righteous and fulfil His promises. Until then, God’s strength would sustain him in the dark days ahead.

 

Too many Christians have a God of the good times. They love him when all is going well. Satan asked God “Does Job not trust you because you have blessed him?” When God removed the blessings, Job’s wife told him  to do what Satan was hoping he would do, which is to curse God  (Job 1:11; 2:5). Job responded "shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?"(Job 2:9-10. Later job told his three friends "Though He slays me, yet I will hope in Him" (Job 13:15). We choose whether to let misfortunes harden us or soften us.

The last verse of Habakkuk is “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (v. 19). The deer is sure-footed on the most treacherous terrain where the rest would slip and slide and eventually fall. Habakkuk paints the picture of the deer running on the heights of the mountains, steady, surefooted, unafraid and full of confidence as she scales the heights. They dance and leap on the hills full of life and joy.

Then he declares “God will set my steps that firmly and lively also. I will do more than merely plod along; I will skip about with life and joy”. This is the Lord’s promise to us. He will keep us steady and sure as we travel the treacherous paths of life. If you know the Lord, he will give you stability in the slippery moments of life and keep you standing when others fall around you. You will stand secure when the battle is over (Ephesians 6:13).  

The book ends on a note of hope and praise. The single most important observation from Habakkuk is that as the book ends, nothing has changed on the outside. Wickedness still reigns in Jerusalem. And the Babylonians are still God’s appointed instrument for judgment. Nothing has changed except Habakkuk has changed on the inside.  He has found out that a mighty God is in charge of what goes on in the universe. God’s principles are eternal and his ways are everlasting. Yesterday today and forever he is the same.

Habakkuk’s journey mirrors our own journey through life. He began his journey in the valley of doubt and he ended scaling the heights with God. It is a beautiful journey and one that is open to everyone. In your own personal journey from doubt to faith keep seeking God and he will lead you to that place where you will learn to trust him no matter.  Like a mountain deer you will leap on the heights full of life and joy in God’s presence. You will join the psalmist in saying “you make known to me the path of life, you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Ps 16:11).