A Further Thought on Hope

One of my favorite passages in the Bible for many years is from a little skinny book in the Old Testament called Habakkuk. Habakkuk was a prophet writing in the midst of the Exile, which means that he had been taken from his homeland and he saw a lot of suffering around him. Those from his land were hungry and lost in a strange land. They were prisoners of war, more or less. They thought they would never see their families or their homes again, and many of them did not.

Most of Habakkuk's book is written in the form of a prayer that more or less asks,"What the hell were you thinking, God?" After three excruciating sections of Habakkuk's pain, he concludes with a simple declaration of faith:

"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, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I
will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights" (Habakkuk 3: 17-19).

What strange and confident faith, what hope, came out of his suffering. I know many people in this world who have suffered to the point where faith is no longer an option. One of my oldest and dearest friends lost her faith completely after the death of her 17-year-old niece. Before the death of her niece, this friend was very active in the church. She even was the Sunday School superintendent. When her niece died so young, she became angry at God, not because her niece died but because her niece's brief life was so full of pain. Her niece had a heart condition that required two open heart surgeries. As a result, she was left deaf at the age of four. She went to a mainstream school, so her only contact with those she could actually communicate with were those members of her family who actually learned sign language and a deaf club that she attended. She was lonely. She could not be active like most children. What was the point of that suffering? I understand my friend's anger. I understand why she left the church. I could never even dream of any explanation for her neice's brief and pain-filled life.

I think this is why I am so fascinated by Habakkuk. He was in a place of absolute hopelessness and pain, and he found hope and strength somewhere inside himself. Is that what faith is all about? I don't really know, but I remain fascinated.