Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty,
I'm singing joyful praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain! Habakkuk 3:17-19 (MSG)

The Hiding Place is a great book by Corrie Ten Boom. It tells the story of Corrie and her family hiding Jews from the Nazi's during World War II. They created "a hiding place" in their home. They were eventually caught and sent to concentration camps. There, her family members all died. Corrie, however, survived and – it was later learned – was released from the camp due to a "clerical error." She spent the rest of her life telling her and her family's incredible story.

During her stay in the camp, Corrie descended into bitterness and hatred towards her cruel captors. Her sister, however, continued to experience great joy in the midst of the incomprehensible circumstances. One morning during role call, her sister looks up at the birds flying overhead through the acrid ash and rejoices at such a "beautiful sight." Corrie is dumbounded at her sister's ability to see beyond the barbed wire of their current existence.

When we experience real communion with the infinite God of the universe, the discouraging circumstances of the moment do not keep us from "turning cartwheels of joy," taking heart and gaining strength.