Hopeful Trust

This is hopeful trust in redemption.

This is what has remained. This is what must remain your guide.

Scriptures from Habakkuk 3:2-3;17-19

"In wrath remember mercy” (3:2)

"His praise filled the earth" (3:3)

The song of creation points to the symphony of God's redemption. It recognizes that things are utterly broken and needing to be saved. It's also this plea that, through the making of things right, God might still show mercy to the undeserving.

This is what I will call stubborn faith: hopeful trust in God's ability and inclination to redeem.

"though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen, and no cattle in the stalls... yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength." (3:17-19)

Let's define some words:

Rejoice; feel or show great joy or delight:

Joyful; feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness:

Strength; the potency, intensity, or speed of a force or natural agency:

Note that the first two are dependent on feelings, while the last one is a definition of character or an attribute associated with something or someone.

Rejoicing is a feeling or an expression of delight. Delight is to look at something and love it, treasure it and know it has great value. Rejoicing is an action we perform because of our delight in God.

Joyfulness is a feeling or an expression of happiness. Happiness is something that changes our orientation, mood, and general vibe. Being Joyful is a natural reaction to being saved by God.

In both contexts, the words are used in light of experiencing the nature of who God is. Rejoicing is done in the Lord... being Joyful in God my Savior.

This could serve as proof that the nature and essence of God is a defining aspect of how we feel moment to moment (by no means do I wish to imply that we should rely only on feelings!). When we look to God, we cannot help but feel Joyful and the desire to Rejoice because of it!

What makes him so pleasing to look at?

What about him evokes a joyful response?

What might cause us to Rejoice in him?

Now we must turn to the final word: Strength.

God's strength is pleasing to us, because it is by and through his strength that he saves us.

God's strength is worth delighting in, because it is in his strength alone that we are able to continue to endure.

God's strength is potent and intense. It has agency, which means that it has power and authority, what our verse calls "Sovereign" (3:19).

These words help us understand what makes up faith, with our definition of stubborn faith: hopeful trust in God's ability and inclination to redeem.

These, then are faith:

Dependence on God's strength.

Joy in his deliverance.

Rejoicing by living faithfully.

Noah Miller, 11/8/25 - Wayland, Michigan