Life is Hard, and some people seem to have more than their fair share of Hard! Recently WSMV-TV tweeted a story headline that read “Cancer patients find miracle in rubble of burned-out home in Memphis.” As it turns out a woman who is battling cancer’s home burned while her daughters were battling cancer, as well! As the family sifted through the home’s debris, what did they find? … The Family Bible unscathed on a shelf! Amazing!
In Habakkuk, we read that in a vision God shared with the prophet that the wickedness in the world was going to be defeated, but that times were going to be hard … real hard. God’s people were not going to be exempt from the hard and devastating – some might even say hopeless – times. But the prophet clings to the promise of God’s faithfulness in the past! The prophet also recognizes that God is both his “strength” and “salvation.” Through Almighty God, God’s people can cling to the real Hope and Knowledge that God will provide for them all that they need in both spiritual and concrete ways for a full life both for the here and now and for eternity! This promise does not just stand for God’s faithful people of the Exile but for God’s faithful people today!
Life at times is surely Hard. Many times it seems like more than we can handle, but we can cling to the promise that God is our “strength” and our “salvation.” Even in the occasional debris of life, God is our true Hope!
Prayer:
Almighty God, help me to know your strength in real ways. We confess that sometimes life seems so Hard that we can hardly continue to bear it! Gently remind us of your salvation that we can experience both in the hard times of the here and now as well as for eternity! In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
Submitted by: Rev. Lori Holliman