A Choice to Rejoice

Scripture:
 Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”

Introduction:
 Habakkuk was faced with choices. His King, Jehoiakim the king of Judah led the people back into idolatry and away from the Lord. As a result, judgment was coming by the hands of Babylon. Things could not get any worse. Habakkuk had seen the starvation of young and old, the cannibalism of children, the destruction of Solomon’s temple, and the apparent end of his country. Habakkuk had to decide whether he was going to fall into despair or rise in faith and worship and celebrate God in the face of these circumstances. Although Habakkuk had plenty of reasons to dwell in discouragement, he made a choice to rejoice. We, as Christians, must make this same choice, even though things seem to be against us.

I. We can rejoice because, even though circumstances change, God remains the same.
Malachi 3:6-7 “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. 7 Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the LORD of hosts.”
A. We have a tendency to drift but God’s Word assures us of His faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:19-24 19I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed. 20I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—the feeling of hitting the bottom. 21But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: 22GOD’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. 23They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! 24I’m sticking with GOD (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.” (The Message Bible)
B. We must not allow the changes going on around us to determine our response to God in any other way than to draw us nearer to Him.
1. The only person who appreciates and welcomes change is a wet baby.
2. The only thing that’s permanent is change.
C. In the midst of change, we can rejoice because of the goodness of God.
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

II. We can make a choice to rejoice because God always has a plan.
Isaiah 55:9-12 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12 “For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
A. Because God is God and I am man, I do not always understand what God is up to, but that doesn’t keep God from His appointed task.
B. The purpose of God’s Word is to give us nourishment and strength even in those times when we lack understanding.
C. No matter how bleak or bad things get, it cannot stop God’s plan from being completed.
D. God promises that joy is coming our way and singing will be our portion.
Psalms 126:1-6 “When the LORD restored his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! 2 We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the LORD has done for them.” 3 Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy! 4 Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert. 5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” (New Living Bible)
1. I make a choice to rejoice now, when things are bad, because restoration is coming my way.
2. I keep on doing what God has called me to do and I will surely have a joyful harvest.
3. My tears are the fertilizer for my crops that I plant in God’s soil.
E. We have a destiny in God.
Jeremiah 29:11-12 “11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”

III. I make a choice to rejoice and rest in His strength, not my own.
Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
A. There is strength to be found in the house of the Lord.
Psalm 23:3-4 “Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. 4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life,”
1. It’s easy to get discouraged as the devil is always on the prowl seeking whom he may devour.
2. We are engaged in conflict but God is the captain of our salvation.
3. If there are times when we need to be hidden, God’s house has been provided.
Psalm 27:5 “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
B. God’s strength is enough to guarantee victory in my life and, for that, I give Him praise.
Psalm 27:6 “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.”
C. I must begin to focus my attention upon Him and not the stuff that’s desperately trying to divert my attention.
Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
D. It’s time to make a positive affirmation concerning God’s strength.
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

IV. I make a choice to rejoice because God gives me feet that are able to walk and climb on high places.
A. I can ascend to a higher place in God as I put my confidence in Him.
B. A mountain goat has the ability to jump from one seemingly insurmountable mountain projection to another without falling. God has designed him that way.
C. God has designed us to come up higher.
D. God enables me to go to high places that I would not be able to go to and He keeps me from falling.
E. God is establishing His people as a mountaintop people.
Isaiah 2:2-3 “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.”