Reflection: “Though the Fig tree does not Bud”
“Though the pandemic lock me inside for months,
though my church is torn apart by division,
though my finances plummet,
my friends let me down,
and ill health plagues me…
yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”
The prophet Habakkuk was confused. Wicked Israel deserved God’s judgment — but how could a holy God use such a despicable nation as Assyria as his instrument of justice? With corruption all around him, and a God whose ways he can’t understand, things don’t make sense for Habakkuk.
Yet by the end of his short book, he breaks out into song. The song affirms three things. First, it’s the Lord who makes the fig tree bud and the fields produce food. Second, if the tree doesn’t blossom and the stalls and fields are empty this is also the Lord’s doing. Habakkuk couldn’t deny that when the Assyrians came it was because the Lord sent them.
Third, and most important of all, God’s faithful people trust and thank him even when the tree doesn’t blossom. God’s works may sometimes confuse us; but we have the greater confidence that if God didn’t spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, then he’ll graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32).
Prayer:
Sovereign Lord, we confess that your ways are higher than ours and at times we doubt your wisdom and goodness. Grow our trust in you so that, when the fig tree does not bud, we might always rejoice in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.