Deer's Feet

Habakkuk 3:19 (NKJV) - 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.”

Are difficulties, setbacks, disappointments, hardships, trials, tribulations, sufferings, violence, crime, and racism the by-product of the modern time that we live in? Not at all, there was a prophet named Habakkuk who lived over 3,500 years ago who saw some of the same things happening in his time.  He was very disturbed by what he saw, therefore he cried out to the Lord in prayer saying, “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, Violence!  But you do not save? Why do you make me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?  Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore, the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves” (Hab. 1:2~4, 13; NIV)? Habakkuk was very troubled because what he knew to be true concerning God’s character (His justice and holiness) and the things he saw (injustice and sin) seemed to co-exist as if they were meant to be.
   
 The Lord answered Habakkuk’s prayer in which he appealed to God’s justice and holiness. In verse 3 of chapter 2 the Lord said, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” The Lord knows what is happening on earth, and He assured Habakkuk of this and let him know that He has set an appointed time that He will judge all things. Habakkuk, looking through the eyes of faith, based on what he knew to be true concerning God’s character made two monumental statements in the book. He said, “…the just shall live by his faith” and “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” (Hab. 2:4, 19; NKJV).
    
The Lord wants us to come to the same realization and assurance that Habakkuk came to. Through all the heart aches that life can bring, the Lord wants us to know that He is our sovereign strength and that He will enable us to walk over the hills and mountains in our lives. The transformation of our human feet to deer’s feet (spiritually speaking) takes place when we begin to see, trust, and rely on the sovereign righteous character of God as revealed in his Word amidst all that life can bring. Deer’s feet are essential for climbing high hills because they are specially designed to climb high places. Where humans struggle, deer move with ease. The Lord wants us to be this way spiritually, the problem that we have is that the Lord transforms our feeble feet into deer’s feet amidst the struggles of life, so we can learn to trust His sovereignty, power, and grace. Be encouraged, because as we know but often struggle to live out, “…all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Ro. 8:28). There is very little difference between the truth that Romans 8:28 and Habakkuk 3:19 are conveying. They are both telling us that God is in the business of transforming our feeble feet into deer’s feet with or without our consent! Let us learn to trust Him saints.   
  
Prayer: Lord, we know and believe that you have all things under your righteous sovereign control. However, the moment you allow something that we don’t like or that makes us uncomfortable, we tend to question that truth. Lord we repent of our moments of unbelief. Teach us to truly live life with your righteous character and nature in the forefront of our hearts and minds as revealed in your Word. Help us to center our lives around you and not ourselves.  In Jesus name, amen.

(by Bro. Casey Lingham)