“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the field produces no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet will I rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in God my Saviour, the Sovereign LORD is my strength.”  These words were written by Habakkuk (3:17-19), a so-called “minor prophet” of the Old Testament in the Bible. Anyone who can say such things cannot be minor. His book may have contained only three chapters but in modern times such as ours, these words can only be said by a very big man. Last night I told my wife how these words have taken a hold in my heart recently. They have sort of added an angle to the words of Daniel’s three friends when Nebuchadnezzar threw them into a furnace so hot the blokes firing it up got killed by the heat. These 3 amigos confidently told the king that their God would deliver them from the furnace. The important rider however was that “even if He does not …we will not serve your gods or worship the image you have set up” (Daniel 3:18) Wow. These words can only be uttered from the knowledge that God’s ways are higher than ours, and that He knows our needs more than we do. Therefore, what is important is simply to worship and praise Him no matter what the circumstances. He is after all, God. So what if He doesn’t do what we hope (or wrongly expect) Him to. That does not diminish His divinity in any way. It should add a new dimension to the way we know Him. While we know that He loves us as our Heavenly Father and will therefore provide for us (Matthew 6) our submission to His sovereignty goes beyond His providence to us.

Invariably when one thinks this way one is pretty much in a bit of a pit. Why would a person rolling in dough think of how he would react if his coffers run dry, right? It may not be just material. Why would a person living some of this happiest days be thinking of doom and gloom yes? Ah well I might as well fess up – yes, I’m in a bit of a gloomy mood now. It gets to me every now and then – the act of submitting to a whole new game, copping the admonition that comes with instructions, regretting the differences in approaches, forgetting certain details simply because one has become accustomed to having some other person (such as a secretary or subordinate) take care of them, being walloped for a whole gamut of reasons which add up to an almighty misery… yes just being in the pits. The temptation to give up, walk away and say enough is enough, constantly rears its ugly head. Alternatively the temptation is to think maybe the fit is wrong and he wants me out. After all, 95% of what I do now used to comprise maybe 2% of what I did in Malaysia, and that was over 10 years ago, when I started out. Yes – probates, wills, debt collection, tenancy, and mom and pop businesses – these comprise maybe 95% of what I do now. I struggle with them because my mind is simply not in this mode. Even after almost 6 months here. My struggles at work often mean miserable days on end. I go home feeling all dark and gloomy, having derived no satisfaction of a good day’s work. I would kneel, the following morning, and ask God to give me strength to cope with the new day. I often don’t – these cycles repeat themselves. So the 3 Amigo’s brave words and deed come to mind, just as Habakkuk’s challenge. When I said these things to my wife last night, I wonder how she felt.