December 20
Habakkuk 3:17-18
17 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,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
Joy in Chaos
by Mark Hoekstra, Ph.D.
One thing not everyone realizes about professors at research institutions like Baylor is that a major component of our job is to publish original research in top-tier peer-reviewed academic journals. In English, that means we have to answer important questions better than any other scholar in the world. If that sounds nontrivial, it’s because it is; there are a lot of smart people at universities across the world competing to answer those same questions. One consequence of participating in this peer-review system is that all of us—and I mean all of us—have had plenty of experience with criticism and rejection of work we generated with our own blood, sweat, and tears. And there is no rejection like that which comes from reviewers who are anonymous, and thus emboldened to say whatever they want, however they want to say it.
Of course, struggles in the peer-review system are trivial compared to most world events. One needs look no farther than Ukraine, or Israel and Gaza and Lebanon, to see all kinds of brokenness. Even our own national politics seem broken. I’m confident that as you read this, post-election, roughly half of you will be extremely disappointed—if not angry—at the outcome.
Habakkuk reminds us that even when human things are broken—whether in work, war, or our own national politics—we can still have joy in what God has done for us, and continues to do. Habakkuk’s prayer reminds me of two things. The first is a song called “Firm Foundation” that has been frequently a part of worship at my church. My favorite lyric—and the one that exactly reflects Habakkuk’s sentiment in the passage above—is “I’ve still got joy in chaos – I’ve got peace that makes no sense – So I won’t be going under – I’m not held by my own strength.” Even when things are broken—and especially when things are broken—we have joy in our Savior.
There is also an adolescent version of similar sentiment. When my nephews were teenagers, they really liked funny shirts and socks that they could wear to school. As a result, I was always on the lookout for clever gifts that might further my candidacy for Uncle of the Century. (For example: It turns out it was possible to buy socks with a certain president’s scowling face on it, complete with physical (but hopefully fake?) hair hanging from the sock. Ask me how I know.) One day I came across a t-shirt that caught my eye. It said, “Nah, I’m good.” I figured that wasn’t a bad theme for the ups and downs of adolescence. Habakkuk is telling us it’s also not a bad theme for life. When life hits you in the mouth, as Christians we can still have joy in that chaos, because we’ve got everything we need.
About the Author
Mark Hoekstra, Ph.D.
Mark Hoekstra, Ph.D., joined the Hankamer School of Business’s faculty in the fall of 2023 as the George J. Boden Professor of Economics. His expertise is in applied microeconomics, including the economics of education and the economics of crime. He holds appointments as Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and as a Research Fellow at IZA, and was awarded the 2012 IZA Young Labor Economist Award. Professor Hoekstra’s research has been published in top economics journals including the American Economic Review. His recent research focuses on providing credible tests of the role of race in the criminal justice system.