August 5: Vicious Circle of Depression or Victorious Circle of Praise?

Habakkuk 1:2-4

Amplified Bible (AMP)

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and You will not hear? Or cry out to You of violence and You will not save?

3 Why do You show me iniquity and wrong, and Yourself look upon or cause me to see perversenessand trouble? For destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention arises.

4 Therefore the law is slackened and justice and a righteous sentence never go forth, for the [hostility of the] wicked surrounds the [uncompromisingly] righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.

Why did God use a wicked nation to bring punishment against God's own people, though they were rebellious and sinful? 

Habakkuk 2:6-17

Amplified Bible (AMP)

6 Shall not all these [victims of his greed] take up a taunt against him and in scoffing derision of him say, Woe to him who piles up that which is not his! [How long will he possess it?] And [woe to him] who loads himself with promissory notes for usury!

7 Shall [your debtors] not rise up suddenly who shall bite you, exacting usury of you, and those awake who will vex you [toss you to and fro and make you tremble violently]? Then you will be booty for them.

8 Because you [king of Babylon] have plundered many nations, all who are left of the people shall plunder you—because of men’s blood and for the violence done to the earth, to the city and all the people who live in each city.

9 Woe to him who obtains wicked gain for his house, [who thinks by so doing] to set his nest on high that he may be preserved from calamity and delivered from the power of evil!

10 You have devised shame to your house by cutting off and putting an end to many peoples, and you have sinned against and forfeited your own life.

11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall [built in sin, to accuse you], and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it [agreeing with its charge against you].

12 Woe to him who builds a town with blood and establishes a city by iniquity!

13 Behold, is it not by appointment of the Lord of hosts that the nations toil only to satisfy the fire [that will consume their work], and the peoples weary themselves only for emptiness, falsity, andfutility?

14 But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

15 Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink, who pours out your bottle to them and adds to it your poisonous and blighting wrath and also makes them drunk, that you may look on their stripped condition and pour out foul shame [on their glory]!

16 You [yourself] will be filled with shame and contempt instead of glory. Drink also and be like an uncircumcised [heathen]! The cup [of wrath] in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you [O destroyer], and foul shame shall be upon your own glory!

17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover and overwhelm you; the destruction of the animals [which the violence frightened away] will terrify you on account of men’s blood and the violence done to the land, to the city and all its inhabitants.

Basically God is saying here that the wicked are always punished, even if they are His chosen people. He chooses the means. 
Here are some examples of evil which is allowed by God:
1. Gods chosen people + unrepentant wicked behavior = punishment by a wicked nation (today's example)
2. God's people + wicked behavior = punishment + true repentance and embracing God's laws = deliverance
3. Wicked people + unrepentant wicked behavior = evil will come upon them, but it may not happen until the tribulation, only God knows
4. Innocent people (whether a Christian or non-Christian) + wickedness done against them for no reason + crying out to God = deliverance, and for non-Christian, salvation as well
Can you think of other scenarios of God allowing evil that I may be missing? 
We all can think of real life examples of these, either in Scripture or more recent examples.
Moving on,

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Amplified Bible (AMP)

17 Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!

19 The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!

Wow, such powerful words! Let's simply make the decision to rejoice in everything! What is our option? Hang our head in despair? This choice is the easy one, but it only brings more despair. The harder choice of rejoicing and praising God in the midst of it all brings His presence. His presence brings joy! 
Do you want to be in the vicious circle of depression or the victorious circle of worship? You've got to choose one. Otherwise, you will automatically fall into depression. Negative circumstance, negative thoughts, negative words, depression, back to negative thoughts, depression, and on and on it goes. 
However, you can make the choice to change the circle! 
How about this: Negative circumstance, rejoice in God, lost in His presence, rejoice in God, lost in His presence? As we keep this circle going it will change to rejoice in God, lost in His presence, watch Him turn it around!
"Dear Jesus, I pray for everyone who's in the pit of despair today. Please help them make the decision to turn their vicious circle into a victorious circle. Please help them to lay the depression and despair at Your feet and use their words to praise and thank You in the midst of it all! You are awesome and powerful! You can turn any situation around! Bless Your matchless name, Jesus, AMEN."