Day Three ~ March 11, 2020

"The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the pine, and the box tree together,
to beautify the place of My sanctuary;
and I will make the place of My feet glorious."
~ Isaiah 60:13
Habakkuk ~ Chapter Three
"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
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."
(Habakkuk 3:18-19)

Morning Meditation: Read Habakkuk 3:1-16

The heart of the Lord's prophet had begun to sink under the heavy burden of the condition of his people, and the Lord's response to his prayer only pressed him down further, until he went up to his watchtower and allowed his heart and mind to be carried away to new heights of understanding as he meditated on the holiness and eternal character of God. In the sanctuary of God, and in the stillness of his heart, the Lord's servant received God's vision and saw His glory, and was lifted up out of the depths of fear and brought to new higher places of faith. The vision of God was so overwhelming that Habakkuk found himself overcome with weakness, just like many of God's servants, who have sought God fervently to understand His will in a deeper way, have trembled and fallen on their faces in the presence of the Lord (Joshua 5:13-15; Daniel 8:27; 10:11; Revelation 1:17). Even though we may at times feel emotionally and physically drained, the Lord purposes that our emptiness will cause us to run to Him continually for supplies. He is the eternal fountain of living water, which will never run dry!

"O LORD, I have heard Your speech and I was afraid;
O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy."
(Habakkuk 3:2)

With the renewed strength God had given him, Habakkuk began to recount God's mighty works on behalf of His people, and he found that the revival he desired for his people flooded his own heart. "His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, and there His power was hidden" (v. 3b, 4). God enabled His servant to experience a taste of the glory that was to come, and Habakkuk was able to pray more fervently for the success of God's work, even though it wasn't the work he was expecting God to do. As he meditated on the power and glory God revealed in the past deliverances of His people, Habakkuk's attitude and response began to change. "You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for salvation with Your Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, by laying bare from foundation to neck" (v. 13). His fear had been eclipsed by renewed growth in faith, and all the worry and concern that once burdened him was transformed into heart-felt worship for the Lord. The light of the revelation of the glory of God that comes into our lives through the Word of God is meant to lay us low and humble us before the Lord, that He might lift us up and raise us to deeper experiences of His love and grace. Like Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, the brilliance of God's light and the sound of His voice will cause us to tremble the more time we spend in the presence of God, and we will often experience moments of deep darkness and blindness as He works within us the greater illumination of His will. The desire to know God deeply and intimately is as difficult as it is delightful. It can be a painful and woeful journey into the depths of God's love (Isaiah 6:5). When the clouds of our understanding our parted by the greater illumination He imparts to us through His Word, our spiritual eyesight will be restored and we will be able to pray in accordance with His will because we have been brought into the higher realm of His divine perspective. May we learn to trust God in the valley seasons as He is working out His perfect will for our lives, and call to mind the mighty works the Lord has accomplished in the past, and especially on the Cross, to encourage us and give us hope to patiently wait upon Him till all His promises are brought to pass! He is mighty to save! Let us linger a little longer in praise today for the greatness of our God! He alone is worthy to receive all glory, honor, power, and praise! "I will praise, You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works, I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High" (Psalm 9:1-2)

"Therefore I also,
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love for all the saints,
do not cease to give thanks for you,
making mention of you in my prayers:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead
and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all principality and power and might and dominion,
and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
(Ephesians 1:15-21)
Afternoon Devotion: Read Habakkuk 3:17-19

Habakkuk's name means "embraced by God," and he certainly lived up to his name as he embraced the works and will of God in worship and with joy. Habakkuk learned to trust God in the midst of troubling times and in view of a troubling revelation from God regarding His plans for His people. Habakkuk found hope in the face of calamity and was able to let go of his fear and lay hold of hope as he put his faith in God. The prophet learned that God is the God of our salvation, and that nothing can hinder His work. He was able to experience the joy of the Lord as his strength despite his present distresses, with the knowledge that our God is mighty to save (Isaiah 63:1). God put a new song in his heart in the night season, and the prophet's complaints were turned to praise. "I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth - praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD" (Psalm 40:1-3).


"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
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."
(Habakkuk 3:19)

When Habakkuk got his eyes off of all that was going on around him and the concerns he had for the future of his people, and instead looked up and fixed his eyes on the Lord, he was able to rise above his fear and experience renewal in his faith. Throughout Habakkuk's book we are confronted with the frailty of mankind, but are continually reminded of the majesty of God. May we learn a lesson from this journey, and learn to let go of our disappointments and turn to trust in God regardless of our circumstances, so that we can find our confidence in Him, even when all around us seems dark and the Lord appears to be silent. The Lord wants to restore our vision in this season to His heavenly perspective, so we can look beyond what we can see to what He sees. Though our circumstances may not change, our response to them can; and God expects that they should, if we will humbly submit to the study of His Word and seek His presence in prayer. The Lord desires His people in any age to live in obedience to Him as we look forward to His deliverances and ultimately to His return. "Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the goodness of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods" (Psalm 96:1-4)! As we come to the close of our 3-day pilgrimage journey through the book of Habakkuk, let us remember Esther's 3-day journey of faith (Esther 4:15-16), and how her willingness to be still before the Lord and wait upon God turned what the enemy meant for evil against the Jewish nation upon the enemy himself, resulting in good for the people and the saving of many lives (Esther 9). "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring about as it is this day, to save many people alive" (Genesis 50:20) . May we learn from the courageous men and women of faith throughout history who responded to the impossible circumstances of their day with steadfast faith in God (Hebrews 11); who having drawn strength from the Lord were enabled to traverse the difficult terrain with joy in their steps and a song in their hearts! Let us pray that the church would rise up to new levels of faith in our day, so that we will honor God with a righteous response to His will and His ways, and when the Lord returns He will indeed find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)! "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Let Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" Amen (Matthew 6:9-10).

"Behold, on the mountains
the feet of him who brings good tidings,
who proclaims peace!"
(Nahum 1:15)
Evening Prayer: Listen to the evening audio prayer by clicking the You Tube image below, or click HERE.

Thank you for praying with us these past three days
in commemoration of the Feast of Purim!
This journey has come to an end, but there is still more ahead of us.

It has been a joy to travel with you
as we continue our journey together along the path of divine love
in this Year of Divine Government.
I pray that, with every step we take with our Beloved Shepherd,
and with every tender morsel we feast upon from His Word,
we are learning to traverse even higher places of faith with greater joy
and boundless strength that He alone provides!
He has brought us to this high and noble position
for such a time as this!

We will feast together again during the week of our Lord's Passion
April 5th through 12th
when our next journey will take us from
Palm Sunday, our Lord's Triumphal Entry to
Resurrection Sunday, our Lord's great Triumph!

Prayerfully consider continuing your journey in prayer
between now and then with the LOVE SONG journey provided below:
"The voice of my Beloved! Behold, He comes..."
(Song of Solomon 2:8a)

The Song of Solomon is read each year during the Feast of Passover
as a reminder of God's covenant relationship with His people Israel.

Our Beloved Bridegroom desires for His people to dwell in His love.
Let us remain in His love as we continue in prayer in preparation for our next journey that will take place during the week of our Lord's passion!


Begin your journey of love today... start HERE!

(The dates listed on the LOVE SONG journey page represent the
Passover season of 2012 when it was first written.
Prayerfully consider partaking of this 9-day feast anytime
between now and April 5th when we will begin our next journey.)
Love Song_large header
Let us return to our First Love!
Read about 2020 The Year of Divine Government HERE

In case you missed our first journey this year -
Just click on the title:

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TRUMPET AND TORCH MINISTRIES
P.O. Box 5933 Williamsburg, VA 23188 | www.trumpetandtorch.org
contact: info@trumpetandtorch.org
Setting the world on fire for Christ ~ One heart at a time!
Beautify the place of My sanctuary
a 3-day devotional prayer and fasting journey through the Book of Habakkuk
copyright (c) 2020 Traci A. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., and the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.