“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:19 NIV)
There were four of us on last night’s evening walk, the sun was dipping low in the sky and we were awash in golden hour. We went a long way down the lane, further then I’ve gone on my own for fear of wild boars. (Yep, you read that right.) It was there we discovered deer tracks in the dirt road.
“Isn’t there a verse about deer tracks in the heights?”
My new friend asks the preacher. I know the very text she’s thinking of; the one about enabling deer in high places. Too many translations across too many early mornings of bible study has muddied my delivery. I know the approximate location and the heart of the text: God enables the deer’s solid footing in high and risky places. He enables us also.
This morning I am still considering those deer tracks through the wet sand. We don’t live in the heights, according to our neighbors, we actually live in the hollow. In fact, I’ve intentionally started referring to our place as ‘Honey Hollow’ because we are determined to find the sweet life here in the woods. The folks on our lane talk about ‘the bottoms’ at the end of it. Apparently abandoned gravel pits have filled up with water and give way to the wetlands of the Colorado River.
It feels like we may live at the end of the world, not the top of it. It’s fourteen minutes to town and gas and groceries. The internet company is coming out for the second time to try to jerry-rig us a connection. The critters here are bigger and closer and louder than I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s all an adjustment. We are a long way from suburbia, or even our quaint community in the Midwest. But God has opened up the door for us to live in this hollow and we are set on making the best of it. So I write my gift list. I say my prayers. And I look for beauty any place I can find it. (Turns out the bottoms are bursting with beauty!) We fight for joy. We fight to flourish in all circumstances; on top or on bottom alike.
It occurs to me today that if we can trust the Sovereign Lord’s strength on the heights, then we can trust his strength to tread through the bottoms, too. At all altitudes, He is faithful.
“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He causes me to stand on the heights.” (Psalm 18:33 NIV)
Lord, we are so glad for a God who strengthens us to stand in the heights and the bottoms alike. We are grateful for Your faithfulness at all alttitudes. May You find us faithful in return. Amen.