"Though the fig tree does  not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, thought the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, thought 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) 

This is one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament. The author was faced with one of the bleakest times in the history of the Chosen People. But in spite of so much of his comfort zone falling apart, he still knew his source of strength was the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and not  in things. Today, because of the pandemic, lives are being lost, the economy is threatened, unemployment is high, fear is rampant, isolation from loved ones  is harder to endure. How easy for despair and depression to invade our hearts and dampen our  spirit. But like the prophet Habakkuk, we are called to say and believe: "I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior." We do this not to impress the Lord, but to remind ourselves that we are not alone. God is with us.