Thrive vs. Survive

I talked with a friend the other day and asked how he was doing.  He said simply, “Surviving.”  With all the the virus news and cancel culture including social unrest and political gamesmanship in front of us every day, I would guess that many of us might answer the same way.  Is it possible during times of uncertainty and turbulence to actually thrive instead of just survive?

Habakkuk was one amazing Minor Prophet.  In his book we read that he saw all of the moral breakdown in the culture around him and how God’s ways were tossed aside, so he asked God some hard questions concerning how God could see all that was going on and do nothing.  He had a faith in God that could handle the hard answer that God gave in response.  Things were going to get much worse before they got better because of the coming judgment of God on the wickedness in the land.  How Habakkuk responded is an inspiration for all Believers today who trust in God during difficult times.  As we long for better days ahead, we can relate to Habakkuk’s trembling at the state of the world around him. The question is: can we relate to his deep expression of faith in God no matter the situation?

Though we can’t say that our current global struggles are necessarily God’s judgment, we can take comfort and guidance from these ancient words of secure faith.  After a beautiful song of hope in God even if business struggled, food was hard to come by, and the land had to bear the weight of God’s judgment, Habakkuk ended by quoting a favorite Psalm of his.  He closed with these lines likely inspired by Psalm 18: “God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on high places” (Habakkuk 3:19).

Have you ever seen a nature show on television (or perhaps in person) of a deer or mountain goat bouncing from peak to peak over high, dangerous mountain terrain?  I would be scared to death to be in their hooves!  But their leaps among the heights are confident and without fear.  They tread easily in some impossible places.  The point our Minor Prophet is making was one of trust in Almighty God to not let his foot slip in dangerous times.  God “enables” and makes him tread on the heights like those confident little deer.  My fear of falling is not a problem for that deer.  In Christ today we can tread confidently and in peace through dangerous and difficult times as we open ourselves up to His work in us to enable each step of faith.  Take courage from this deep expression of trust in our unshakabkle God during these days to move us from just surviving the times to thriving in them by His tender care and strength for each new morning.