Though the Fig Tree Does Not Bud - Jonathan Voos

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Though the Fig Tree Does Not Bud

A word of encouragement

A word of encouragement

I opened my Bible to these words yesterday:

2 How long, Lord, must I call for help

and you do not listen

or cry out to you about violence

and you do not save?

3 Why do you force me to look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Oppression and violence are right in front of me.

Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.

4 This is why the law is ineffective

and justice never emerges.

For the wicked restrict the righteous;

therefore, justice comes out perverted.

— Habakkuk 1:2-4 (CSB).

I don’t know why tragedies happen. Given the shootings yesterday and the 9/11 anniversary today, Habakkuk’s lament resonated with me.

But it’s not the end of the story.

Through a vision, God reminds Habakkuk that He is in control and that “the righteous one will live by his faith.” Though the wicked, prideful, and cruel may have their way now, justice will come at the appointed time.

Despite his earlier complaints, Habakkuk ultimately stands in awe of God’s deeds. God is the God who split the Earth with rivers, makes the mountains shudder, and whose splendor covers the Heavens. God will come out to save His anointed people.

And so I closed my Bible with this reminder:

17 Though the fig tree does not bud

and there is no fruit on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though the flocks disappear from the pen

and there are no herds in the stalls,

18 yet I will celebrate in the Lord;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

19 The Lord my Lord is my strength;

He makes my feet like those of a deer

and enables me to walk on mountain heights!

— Habakkuk 3:17-19 (CSB).