What To Do When You Have No Figs

 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.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Sometimes you are not going to get figs.  And you know it.  There are no buds.  No tiny grains of hope on the edges of the branches. Life is like that.  A lot. No figs. No buds. You are late to class.  Late to work.  God is "late" in getting you out of a rough situation.  There is death of a family member. Death of a dream.  Death of a relationship.  No figs figure into the formula that is your life.

The year 2013 (was that only two weeks ago?) was a "No-Fig" year for me. If I would tell you the story {stories} you wouldn't believe me. No figs heaped up last year...just griefs. I had no other thing to count except griefs.  But when grief is all you've got then it is time to "number griefs as graces" {One Thousand Gifts}.

Criticized for your heart to help others?  Count it as a grace that you have learned the power of words and how to wield them wisely so others don't have to go through what you went through.

Mourning for what once was? Counted it as a grace that you get to move to new adventures. To experience things you wouldn't have otherwise.

Crushed under the weight of abuse from the ones that should have loved you? Count it as a grace that God is stripping you of your need for approval from man. It is a blessing that when it comes right down to it; the only One that can condemn you is the One that won't.

Habakkuk had the key to joy.  It wasn't in the figs, the grapes, the olives, or the sheep. Count those things for what they really are...nothing. Because "Habakkuk Happiness" only comes in one form.  Joy happens you look at the griefs heaped before you and see them through God's eyes.  That the sorrows are only meant for salvation. The blockades turn into blessings. The pains become a promise for greater things to come.

The only way to survive a "No-Fig" year {or day or month} is to count differently.  Count it all joy.

To read more on Habakkuk...