The Daily Devotional
Thursday, July 24, 2025
When the Winds Blow
Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17–18)
Introduction
The prophet Habakkuk wrote these words during a time of national crisis, facing the loss of crops, security, and all that sustained life. And yet, in the middle of devastation, he chooses to rejoice in the Lord. This kind of faith is not born in comfort but in storms—storms like those that tore across the American plains during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s or swirl in sudden fury across the Southwest as towering haboobs.
Reflection
Imagine standing outside on a calm day, when suddenly the horizon turns a sickly brown. A wall of dust taller than buildings rolls toward you, blotting out the sun. This is a haboob—a blinding dust storm, fierce and unpredictable. For those who lived through the Dust Bowl, these storms were a regular, suffocating reality. Crops failed. Livestock perished. Families packed up their lives and fled west, their dreams buried under layers of dust.
Yet in the heart of these storms, something remarkable was born—resilience. Ordinary people, especially farmers, learned to adapt, conserve, and rebuild. They planted windbreaks. They changed how they plowed. And many turned to God with a faith more rugged than the land they tilled.
In everyday life, we may not face literal dust storms, but spiritual and emotional haboobs often sweep through without warning—a job loss, a diagnosis, a betrayal. I once saw a mechanic stand calmly beside his shop after a fire destroyed half of what he owned. With ashes still smoldering, he looked up and said, “We’ll rebuild. The Lord’s been good to me.” That’s Dust Bowl faith.
Application
When storms come—and they will—what anchors you? This devotional invites you to reflect on your spiritual soil. Are you rooted deeply enough to say, “Yet I will rejoice”? Take time today to name the storms in your life, and then name the goodness of God that still remains. Reclaim your joy, not from what’s been taken, but from Who remains unshaken.
Conclusion
God does not always stop the wind from blowing, but He promises to be with us in the storm. The faith that survives dust and drought is not flashy, but it is faithful. And like the land itself, it can be renewed.
Prayer
Gracious God, when life feels dry and the winds rise against me, help me to stand firm in You. Teach me to rejoice not in my circumstances but in Your constant love. Strengthen my roots, Lord, and shelter me when I cannot see the way ahead. Thank You for being my refuge in every storm, my joy in every sorrow, and my strength when all else is stripped away. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Devotional by: Kenny Sallee, ThM — Deming, NM, USA
The Bible texts are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV)© 1989, 1993, the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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