Deer Feet

Habakkuk wanted God to come fix the wickedness all around him, so he complained.
Or, as I prefer to call it, he stated his opinion.
The Lord comes back with, "Look around, be amazed, you won't believe what I'm planning". Okay, you've got my attention now, what is it? The Lord says, "I am going to raise up the dreaded Chaldeans to invade and destroy." How's that for punishing wickedness?
Habakkuk may be wondering if his complaint has backfired, because he questions the Lord, 'Do you think it's really right that such an evil people should destroy one that is more righteous?"
The thought of being invaded by the Chaldeans caused him to shake violently with fear, and his legs to be so wobbly, they can barely support him. He decides to describe his feelings in a song.

"I hear, and my body trembles;

my lips quiver at the sound;

rottenness enters into my bones;

my legs tremble beneath me.

Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble 

to come upon people who invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail 

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold 

and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

GOD, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer’s;

he makes me tread on my high places."

Habakkuk 3:16-19

Fear has made Habakkuk weak, but somehow, even in that frightened and weakened condition, he manages to accept the circumstances. Though neither the instrument God uses, nor the inevitable removal of blessing will be pleasant, Habakkuk declares that he will wait quietly.
How in the world is he able to do this?
He chooses Joy, even though all he feels is fear. He isn't going to wait until circumstances change, or until he feels something different. He claims his joy on the basis of his God who saves, who is in total control, who is right in all that He does. And what does joy in the Lord give him?
Feet like a deer.

You may not like God's tools for helping you die to self, I'm certain my flesh doesn't, but if you want to walk by the Spirit, this is His plan. Getting on board with His plan doesn't mean you need to go looking for weakness, suffering and humility. That's like saying to him, "Okay, Lord, I get it now, I can take it from here." It isn't really up to you to decide how or when or where or through whom the Lord will bring these things into your life, all you need to do is accept them when the Lord does. Know that He will.
Trials are hard! They drag on longer than we would like, make us feel weaker, and make us feel afraid.
Crazy Joy is easy, lasts forever, makes you strong and makes you secure. Unlike the human kind we are usually seeking, crazy joy is never a feeling, never a fake, always a reality in the Lord.
Who wouldn't want that?

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, 

when you encounter various trials, 

knowing that the testing of your faith 

produces endurance,

 and let endurance have its perfect result, 

that you may be perfect and complete, 

lacking in nothing."

James 1:2

Jesus said, 

"these things I have spoken to you, 

that My joy may be in you, 

and that your joy may be made full."

John 15:11

"Now may the God of hope fill you 

with all joy and peace in believing, 

that you may abound in hope 

by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

Hope like an anchor!
Joy like a fortress!
Does that not shout stability and safety to you?