Whether you get your news from Facebook, the television, or your neighbors, you have probably heard some bad news about someone. It seems that there is always someone that is hurting. This week, we learned that ISIS killed another captive. We heard that cancer will be taking the life of a child in a few months. And another family is struggling financially with no help in sight. Times like these can cause even the strongest Christian to wonder where God is in what is happening.

When someone asks me for a Scripture passage to encourage them during difficult times, I often point them to the Old Testament book of Habakkuk. The prophet who wrote the book was going through a harrowing time himself. Wicked people were getting away with atrocities and Habakkuk didn’t understand why God was not getting involved. But when God revealed what the future held for the prophet’s country, he wasn’t thrilled. God’s message to him was that “the righteous will live by his faith.” In other words, Habakkuk had to come to grips with God’s sovereign control over all things. He had to trust God to both know and do what was best.

By the end of the third chapter, Habakkuk had finally yielded his future to God’s control. Read the entire book and you will see that he went from complaining to quivering to rejoicing in God. Not all of us are going to experience what Habakkuk did but we can have the same response to difficult circumstances that he had. It is with this message in mind, that I penned these words to a beautiful tune written by classical guitarist Per-Olov Kindgren. Click on the video below and then try to sing along.

If you are a guitar player, the sheet music is available for a minimal cost on Per-Olov Kindgren’s website.