Fig Tree

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. – Habakkuk 3:17-18

It is easy to praise God in the good times, but are we able to do the same when our world starts to fall apart?

The prophet Habakkuk made his declaration of praise when Judah was on the verge of a Babylonian invasion. I am reminded of similar stories in the Bible, like King Jehoshaphat who held on to the Lord’s promises and praised Him in the face of an imminent attack. He even sent his worship team out in the front line before his army (2 Chronicles 20)! I think of Job, whose wife told him to curse God and die in the face of terrible suffering when everything was taken away from him. However, Job still chose to declare “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” Job 13:15

Fig Tree was not an easy song to write. It was composed during an extremely trying season of my life. On the personal front, I was battling an auto-immune disease and juggling the demands of a hectic work schedule which involved extensive travelling. I was thrust into the position of being the sole breadwinner for my family then, as my father was hospitalized for a major illness. My bank account was completely emptied out. In the midst of all these challenges, I was also planning for my wedding. 

Fast forward to the present day: perhaps it is most apt that this song is being released at a unique time in history when we are going through a global health and economic crisis.

Through the most difficult moments, I have discovered that the enemy’s ultimate goal is to stop us from worshipping God, and one way he does that is to rob joy from our worship.

It was really difficult to bless the Lord and lead others into worship when I myself had no mood to sing. In the face of trials, God began to refine my worship to Him. As He did in Job’s life, He allows our physical circumstances to be tested, so that our faith may be refined by fire to be of greater worth than gold (1 Peter 1:6-7).

How then is it possible to rejoice in the Lord always? Apostle Paul reveals the secret to this:

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11b-13).