It is said that one reads Scripture to find peace of mind or to experience the gentle warmth of God’s embrace.
And that’s good.
But God’s Word can be a challenging wakeup call as well. Pope John XXIII said that God “comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable.”
Recently, after a rather long period of what some call “a dark funk,” I was experiencing great consolation and was truly enjoying and congratulating myself.
Then, in Morning Prayer, came the challenge—and the discomfort of that challenge in Habakkuk:
For though the fig tree blossom not
nor fruit be on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive fail
and the terraces produce
no nourishment,
Though the flocks disappear
from the fold
and there be no herd
in the stalls,
Yet will I rejoice in the Lord
and exult in my saving God.
(Habakkuk 3:17-18)
OUCH!
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