Hinds' Feet in a World of Trouble Text: Habakkuk 3:16-19
Introduction: Faith with the Trembles
We live in an age of soft faith. Our modern sensibilities prefer a god who is manageable, a faith that is comfortable, and a worship that is primarily therapeutic. We want the consolations of Christianity without the collisions. We want the crown without the cross, the resurrection without the crucifixion, and the promises of God without the holy terror of God. But the faith of the Bible is not like that. It is a robust and muscular thing, a faith with calluses on its hands. It is a faith that can look utter desolation in the eye and sing. It is a faith that can feel the tremors of impending judgment in its very bones and yet rejoice.
The prophet Habakkuk has been on a journey. He began with a complaint, a righteous "how long, O Lord?" He could not reconcile the wickedness of Judah with the holiness of God. God answered him, but the answer was terrifying. God was going to use a nation even more wicked than Judah, the Chaldeans, as His instrument of judgment. This drove Habakkuk to a second complaint, and then to his watchtower, where he resolved to wait for the Lord's reply. God’s reply was that the righteous shall live by his faith. Not by his understanding, not by his circumstances, but by his faith.
And now, in this final section of his prophecy, Habakkuk responds. He has just recounted a terrifying vision of God on the warpath, a God of pestilence and plague, a God who makes the mountains tremble and the nations scatter. This is not the "buddy Jesus" of felt-board flannelgraph. This is Yahweh of Armies. And Habakkuk's response is not a calm, detached intellectual assent. It is a full-bodied, visceral reaction. He shows us what it means to live by faith when the whole world is coming apart at the seams. This is not faith as a denial of reality, but faith as the anchor in the midst of a terrifying reality.
The Text
I heard, and my inward parts trembled; At the sound my lips tingled. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no produce on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields yield no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in Yahweh; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength, And He has set my feet like hinds’ feet And makes me tread on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
(Habakkuk 3:16-19 LSB)
The Proper Fear of God (v. 16)
We begin with the prophet's physical reaction to the revelation of God's coming judgment.
"I heard, and my inward parts trembled; At the sound my lips tingled. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us." (Habakkuk 3:16 LSB)
This is the proper response of a creature before the unveiled holiness and wrath of the Creator. This is not a failure of faith; it is the foundation of it. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he cried, "Woe is me! For I am lost" (Isaiah 6:5). When the apostle John saw the risen Christ in His glory, he "fell at His feet as though dead" (Revelation 1:17). Habakkuk's reaction is in that same biblical tradition. His guts churned, his lips quivered, he felt a rottenness in his bones, and he trembled where he stood.
This is what the fear of the Lord looks like. It is not the cringing dread of a slave before a tyrant, but the awe-struck terror of a creature before infinite power and purity. Our problem is not that we tremble too much, but that we do not tremble at all. We have domesticated God, turning the consuming fire into a pilot light. Habakkuk reminds us that a true vision of God will undo us before it remakes us.
But notice the reason for his trembling. It is because he must "wait quietly for the day of distress." He knows the Babylonian invasion is coming. He knows it is God's righteous judgment. And he knows his job is to stand his post and wait for it. The hardest part of faith is often the waiting. It is one thing to act, but it is another thing entirely to stand still and trust God when you can see the tanks massing on the border. This is not passive resignation; it is the quiet confidence of a man who knows who is in charge of the storm. He is not trembling because God has lost control; he is trembling because God is in absolute, terrifying control.
The Great "Nevertheless" of Faith (v. 17-18)
What follows is one of the most magnificent declarations of faith in all of Scripture. Habakkuk systematically dismantles his entire world, and then stands on the rubble to worship.
"Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no produce on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields yield no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in Yahweh; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18 LSB)
He lists six categories of total economic and agricultural collapse. Figs, grapes, and olives were the staples of their diet and economy. Fields, flocks, and cattle represented their food supply and their wealth. This is not a description of a mild recession. This is TEOTWAWKI, the end of the world as they knew it. This is famine. This is starvation. This is the complete removal of every earthly support and comfort.
The word "Though" sets up the hypothesis. He is saying, "Even if the absolute worst-case scenario happens..." And then comes the great pivot of faith, the word "Yet." In some translations, it is "nevertheless." This is the defiant conjunction of the believer. Circumstances say one thing; "yet" God says another. The world is falling apart, "yet" I will exult. The cupboards are bare, "yet" I will rejoice.
And where does he locate his joy? Not in a change of circumstances, but in an unchanging God. "Yet I will exult in Yahweh; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." His joy is not circumstantial; it is theological. It is not rooted in the gifts, but in the Giver. This is a direct assault on every form of prosperity gospel. Faith is not a tool to get figs and cattle from God. Faith is what holds onto God when the figs and cattle are gone. Habakkuk's worship is not dependent on the economy. His praise is not contingent on his portfolio's performance. His God is enough. The God of his salvation is a sufficient basis for exultation, even in a famine.
The Divine Source and Supernatural Result (v. 19)
The final verse explains how such counter-intuitive, world-defying joy is possible. It does not come from human grit or positive thinking.
"Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength, And He has set my feet like hinds’ feet And makes me tread on my high places." (Habakkuk 3:19 LSB)
The source of this defiant joy is God Himself. "Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength." God is not only the object of our worship, but He is also the one who enables our worship. He does not command us to rejoice in tribulation and then leave us to drum up the feelings ourselves. He provides the strength to do what He commands. Our spiritual life is not a matter of us trying really hard for God, but of God's own life and power at work in us.
And what is the result of this divine strength? "He has set my feet like hinds’ feet And makes me tread on my high places." A hind, or a doe, is famously sure-footed. It can navigate treacherous, rocky, high terrain with grace and speed. When the world below is crumbling, when the valleys are filled with invading armies and economic collapse, God gives His people the supernatural ability to climb. He gives them a stability the world cannot have and a perspective the world cannot see.
This is not about escaping the trouble. The trouble is real. The invasion is coming. But in the midst of that trouble, God enables the faithful to walk on a higher plane. He allows them to tread on the very circumstances that would cause others to stumble and fall. He gives them a security and a vantage point that is rooted in His sovereign purposes. The "high places" are the places of difficulty and trial, which God transforms into places of communion and victory for His people.
Conclusion: Joy in the God of Our Salvation
This is not just a lesson for an ancient prophet facing a Babylonian invasion. This is the manual for Christian living in any and every age. We too live in a world where fig trees fail, where economies collapse, where our securities are revealed to be illusions.
How can we have this kind of defiant joy? Because we know "the God of my salvation" in a way Habakkuk could only anticipate. Our salvation is not an abstract concept; it has a name, and His name is Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of this passage. On the cross, every fig tree failed Him. The produce of the vine was vinegar. The fields yielded only a crown of thorns. The flock scattered, and He was cut off from the land of the living. He was stripped of everything.
And yet, for the joy that was set before Him, He endured it all (Hebrews 12:2). He trusted His Father in the ultimate darkness. And because He did, and because He was raised from the dead, He has become our strength. When we are united to Him by faith, His strength becomes our strength. His victory becomes our victory.
Therefore, we can face our own lesser tribulations. When our health fails, when our finances collapse, when our nation descends into madness, we have a "nevertheless." Though all these things happen, yet we will rejoice in the Lord. Why? Because our ultimate treasure is not in these things. Our treasure is Christ. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. And that is a place no Chaldean army, no economic collapse, and no political tyranny can ever touch.
God is our strength. And He will make our feet like hinds' feet, enabling us to walk securely through the ruins, to tread on the high places of His unchanging purposes, until He brings us home.