Surefooted

In the book of Habakkuk we are witness to the prayers of the prophet and God’s answers. Habakkuk was questioning why evil was allowed to exist. He questioned why God would use the evil Babylonians to punish Judah when they themselves were even more evil. God responded with his plans and purpose. Evil would receive it’s punishment once God’s purposes had been fulfilled. Habakkuk was concerned that evil was allowed to prosper whilst the righteous suffered.

We must remember that we only see with a limited view and from the perspective of our human condition and limitations. We cannot see or know all that God is doing, but we can rest assured that he is in control of it all. We do not have to know all the mysteries of how God works and moves in order to trust that He knows best, His purposes will be fulfilled and in the long run, the bigger picture – justice will be served and God will always do what is right and true.

We may be confused but we can take all our questions and queries to the God. He listens to his children, he will answer our questions. Our God is not intimidating, he is our Father, waiting with open arms and ears towards us.

I would like to focus in on the last verse of Habakkuk. Habakkuk directed his focus towards the Lord rather than the circumstances all around him. I normally tend towards the NLT version of the bible. For this verse I would like to use the Amplified version as the extra descriptions within this verse really adds to the assured understanding of the promises of God within. I will include both translations here.

Habakkuk 3:19 (AMP) The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army]; He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feet And makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility].

Habakkuk 3:19 (NLT) The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

Meditate on those words for a moment before we delve into the truths that are hidden within.

We will comeback to the first half of this verse later. For now I want to concentrate on the part of the verse that says God makes us surefooted as a deer. I didn’t really know much about the deer before studying to understand this verse better. My only experience of deer were that they tended to stare you down in the middle of the road in front the of the car when it was pitch black, looking right into the cars headlights. Or seeing them in the middle of the woods standing as still as they can. When you look into deer and learn about them, this correlation of us being made as surefooted as them, is another promise of God’s that leaves me in awe.

The deer is able to climb high mountains with agility, never losing grip or falling. This ability is due to her being able to place her hind feet where her front feet were. This means that at any time she only really needs to grip with two feet. What may look impassable to us is not even a concern for the deer. The look of the path does not stop her from continuing forwards, unbothered by her surroundings, confident in her ability, she moves on towards safety.

When we put our trust in God, we need not be concerned by the circumstances we find ourselves in, or what seems like an impassable route laid out in front of us. Our trust is not in our own ability or strength. Our trust is in God’s strength and His ability to get us to where we need to be. We only need to concern ourselves with the next step. As you do this, one day you may glance backwards at all you made it through, recognising how God brought you to this place. If you keep your focus on God instead of the path ahead, you may not even notice the predators that seek to harm you because you were under God’s protection. Perhaps if you had paid too much attention to your surroundings you would not have kept going. We need to be less distracted by the arrows that may be thrown our way as we live our lives for God. He will surely bring us through to the other side.

Notice at the beginning of this verse it states that the Lord is my strength. It does not say that the Lord gives me strength or the Lord equips me with strength. It says The Lord is my strength. This is more than just receiving a gift of strength as and when you require it. This is something you have as a believer that stays with you constantly and always. Not something you have to look to receive, but something that is within you. This strength gives you confidence – not in yourself but in God and His constant presence in your life. You are assured of his promises and you become full of courage. It does not mean you will never feel fear, or face afflictions. You will have the courage to face them head on in the strength of the God who created you.

When the challenges of life arise, as they will, you have the strength of the Lord with you as you navigate through. Trusting in God will ensure you have the ability and agility of the deer, to tread upon great heights, undeterred by the challenge, fully focussed on Him. It may well be a long road and a difficult one. You have all that you need in Jesus.