Scripture Focus: [17] Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— [18] Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. [19] 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. Habakkuk 3:17–19 (NKJV)
Life has a way of stripping you bare. Of peeling away the layers until all you’re left with is the core of who you are and what you believe.
I wrote this reflection in one of the hardest seasons of my life—during the first separation from my wife. My world had come crashing down around me. And while praying one night, God reminded me that everything in this world is temporary:
- Homes
- Jobs
- Health
- Even the people we love
It can all change in a moment. A diagnosis, an accident, a broken vow. And I found myself praying, “Lord, give me the heart of Job. Teach me to say, ‘Blessed be Your name,’ even when I lose what I love.”
That prayer led me back to a memory from college. A class called Philosophy of Life, where we studied great thinkers—Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and others—against the backdrop of Scripture. But it was an assignment called The Process of Dying that shook me.
We had to imagine we had just six months to live and slowly let go of what mattered most. I remember my last four:
- Family
- My wife
- My Bible
- My faith
In the end, I let go of everything but my faith. I couldn’t let it go. Because when your body is failing, when your mind is clouded by grief, when the pages of your Bible feel too heavy to turn—faith remains.
That exercise taught me something I never forgot:
Stuff doesn’t last. Faith does.
“Though the fig tree may not blossom…yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”
“The Lord God is my strength.”
Faith doesn’t ignore the pain. It transcends it.
So, here’s my question for you today:
If you had to let go of everything—what would remain?
Would your faith be enough to sustain you in your darkest hour?
Because when all is stripped away, that’s when you find out what you really believe.
And if your faith is in Christ, I promise you—it will be enough.
