Remember Christmas morning as a child—the first glimpse of the enticing packages tucked under the tree? Did you hop and clap with delight?
Or how about that winning touchdown for your team—in the last few moments of the game with your school’s arch rival? Did you jump up and shout in celebration?
Perhaps a family member or dear friend recently announced glorious news—a baby on the way, better employment obtained, or a clean bill of health finally received. Did you find yourself dancing for joy?
Over-the-top pleasure and exciting events will do that to us. And although the body may no longer respond with hops, jumps, or dance, our spirits certainly soar in the moment.
The prophet Habakkuk of Old Testament times wrote about just such a response. I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrased the verse: “I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God” (Habakkuk 3:18 MSG). Sounds like the prophet received the answer to a heartfelt prayer or perhaps a miracle had occurred.
Truth is, Habakkuk’s home city of Jerusalem faced imminent invasion by the brutal Babylonians. Recent conquests of other kingdoms left no question about the city’s fate.
God had made clear why disaster loomed. The people of Jerusalem had continually ignored his wise ways and reveled in wickedness. Multiple warnings had been proclaimed and disregarded.
In response God was about to provide a means of saving his people—not from the ruin of their city—but from the ruin of their souls. He would allow the invasion and a period of captivity in a foreign culture 900 miles away (Isaiah 39:5-8; Jeremiah 25:1-11).
Jeremiah in 605 BC. The invasion took place in 586 BC.)
Habakkuk questioned God’s decision, wondering why he would allow the Babylonians, a people more wicked than the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to “swallow those who are more righteous than they are (Habakkuk 1:13)?”
By the end of his book, however, the prophet’s doubts had turned to faith and he declared—in the face of calamity–“Yet I will celebrate the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation” (3:18 NIV).
The word rejoice in this verse is ‘alaz’ in the original Hebrew, and means to “spin around for joy.”* Can you imagine? Disaster loomed. All Habakkuk had ever known would be destroyed. If not killed, he would be forced into captivity in a hostile country.
Yet Habakkuk determined to dance for joy in his spirit—spin cartwheels even.
How does a person acquire such joy? Not by setting her sights on things that make her momentarily happy. Deep-down dancing joy grows in proportion to our trust in God, and our trust grows in proportion to our knowledge of God—knowledge gained as we spend time in His Word.
We’d also do well to remember the close relationship between joy and gratitude.
As 2022 unfolds, a number of crises threaten—in our cities and states, our country, and around the world. With Habakkuk of old we have a choice: to sink into despair over the real possibility of disaster, or to rejoice in our God who will enable us to endure whatever we may face (James 1:2-4).
It is our turn to spin for joy–in the God of our salvation!
*Linda Dillow, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, 202.
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From the Inside Out 