Renewal

"LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy." Habakkuk 3:2

As I read this verse this morning, I thought about how it was a wonderful prayer for Habakkuk to be praying. And then I thought about how appropriate it is for today too! How wonderful would it be to have the deeds of the Lord known in our time. And to have those deeds credited to God, and not to these made-up entities we've created. We have a raging thunderstorm and we say that mother nature must be angry. We have an increase in hurricane activity one year and people blame it on global warming. And the good things too! Earlier this year there was a massive earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, and there were tsunami warnings everywhere. The tsunamis didn't amount to much, and people found something scientific to attribute that too- rather than give thanks to God above who showed mercy to millions of people.

I cannot wait for the day when I can turn on the news and hear the newscaster talking about the glory of God! How wonderful will it be to hear a news story about people being healed miraculously- and hearing the credit go to God and not to something special in the water or hear skepticism about there actually being an illness in the first place. It will truly be a wonderful day when we can give glory to God for the mighty things that He has done- and do it in a public way with our neighbors and our communities. We can start preparing the way for this to happen by starting it ourselves. When people comment on our lovely gardens, instead of saying thankful and being prideful in what we've accomplished- imagine the reaction if we gave God the glory! We can say something like "Yeah, God did a great job this year, didn't He." Or " God did some of his best work when He created the tomato plant." One person at a time. If more of us gave God the credit for the things we do through Him, I think that would be contagious, and it would get people thinking more about what goes on around them.

As I read further into this chapter in Habakkuk, there was another pair of verses that particularly jumped out at me.

"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,

¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

I think that this is another way where we can make a difference and a huge impact on our communities and the people around us. We can be going through some of the roughest times, we can be facing an empty larder and an empty checkbook, but we can still rejoice in God and be glad in Him. To be certain, when people see this, they will want to know what is making the difference. I've seen it firsthand. We've gone through some really rough patches, and when we still exhibit joy in our everyday, despite what is going on, people notice. People see this, and they want to spend time with us so that they can figure out exactly what is making us so happy in what should be a depressing time in our lives. They want to know what the secret is, and when they learn that the secret is faith in God, they don't really know what to think at first. But I've seen that this mindset is contagious. Through our example, other people have also come to rely on God to get them through their rough times, and end up sharing their own joy in the midst of trouble.

We are in a time of renewal, a time where we can prepare ourselves for the days to come. As we gird ourselves with His love and faithfulness and peace, we can share that with those around us simply by living it out. God has great plans for this planet, and I don't really think that it is all the doom and gloom that people have talked about for years. I think that God's Glory is going to become obvious and apparent and part of everyday life for us. THAT is something worth looking forward to, and something worth preparing for. And we prepare for this time by taking in His Word as much as possible, making it a part of our very selves so that when a friend, neighbor, or co-worker needs a word of encouragement, we can give it to them, without having to pause in conversation and spend precious minutes looking up a verse that comes to mind. The world around us is going to turn to us, and see our joy and our delight in all things of God, and they are going to want to be a part of it. Who wouldn't? That's what I'm looking forward to. I'm looking forward to the world around us changing, and accepting God as their God and Jesus as their Lord and Savior above all else. That is going to be one great and mighty day.