Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

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 3:18-19

It is time, says Habakkuk—time to rejoice, for the LORD has enabled him to rise above his circumstances. Strong’s Concordance suggests Habakkuk would be “jumping with joy”, the MSG translation “turning cartwheels”. Hmm, I feel a song coming on. Singing along with me?

“I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, Down in my heart,
 Down in my heart, Down in my heart;
 I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, Down in my heart,
 Down in my heart to stay.”

 —George W. Cooke, 1926

And as joy has invaded Habakkuk’s being, so has the strength of the LORD. Strength for the journey on the mountaintops is only of the LORD. The deer are able to scramble over the rocky precipices with ease. We too can rise above the things that bring us to our knees. Come to think of it, it is on our knees that we find this strength just as Habakkuk did.  

Digging a little deeper, a Hebrew derivative of Savior (yasha) is yeshua, the word for Jesus. While Habakkuk was confident in God as his Savior, we are absolutely certain of our salvation in Jesus. Consider what Paul had to say about God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe”: it is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:19-20). Now that’s some strength!

If you will remember, God tucked a promise into the midst of all those woes: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD” (2:14). And that’s exactly what will happen: At the name of Jesus every knee (shall) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).  

In the meantime I will depend on the strength of my Sovereign LORD to rise above my circumstances. And I will rejoice in Jesus, my Savior.

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973, 1978, 1984, unless otherwise noted.