Fields and Flocks

Hab. 3: 17 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,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

In America today we have grown accustomed to having an abundance. We have so much more than we need and we still want more. "If a little is good, than a lot must be better" is the mentality. It is easy to be sucked in to this way of thinking. When the rich get richer, it is easy to think that they must be doing it the right way, and those with less should follow their lead.

There is no amount of money that can satisfy; no amount of full barns that can give ultimate security, and no bank roll that can hedge against God's plan for our lives. When He tips the scale there is no equalizer.

This passage is such a sweet reminder that, in the end, all the things we put our hope in on earth are irrelevant because God is our only Refuge and Help in times of trouble. When we have God as our Portion, all the rest doesn't really matter. Everything else here on earth is just extra stuff when God is our Supply.

When life is over and we are in His presence what difference will it make if all the things we did here on earth were successful or not? What difference will it make if we had a bunch of stuff, or a big or small house? Will it matter if we had some position of "importance"?

Let us rejoice in the God of our Salvation! Let us seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and He will handle the rest. Though all the world around us is clawing to get ahead and to get more, may we be the ones who are "clawing" to get closer to God.