Habakkuk

Faith

Habakkuk the prophet learned a great deal about trust through his interaction with the Lord in this book. He spoke directly to the Lord… asking him some difficult questions and expectant of answers. Perhaps this is the first thing to be learned about faith… that God was willing to answer the questions of Habakkuk because he cried out to him alone… he sought Yahweh for salvation and deliverance and was unwilling to just accept what was happening without being in relationship with God. Habakkuk didn’t doubt God was alive and active… he just didn’t understand and was desperate for God’s hand. The second thing that is quite clear in Habakkuk is that as soon as God spoke he was attentive and patient. He acknowledged who God was and was willing to be patient for God’s word to come to fruition. He realized he didn’t have to force God’s hand… that God truly was alive in his life and his gratitude for God’s sovereignty was displayed as he simply let God be God. As he saw more and more of who God truly was he simply took a step back and dared to believe in God’s awesome deliverance despite the disastrous circumstances in his life. He realized and rejoiced in the reality of God’s mighty hand to save those who belong to him. He didn’t give up because he saw whom he believed. This is the greater reality that pervaded Habakkuk’s life… once he had a clear glimpse of his Maker he understood his place in relationship to him. He understood that God really does hold the world in his hand… that he truly is Maker… Deliverer… Judge… Savior… Consuming Fire… the ONE TRUE ALMIGHTY GOD over ALL creation. He also very clearly saw that he was good despite the circumstances that Habakkuk and God’s people were going through. He understood that somehow & some way God will ultimately make things all come together for the good of those who love him… those who are found in him.

The sad reality is that this is not where Judah was… they failed to see who God was and as a result they had absolutely no belief in the reality of who he was. Unfortunately for them their lack of faith did not change who God was… he remained the same despite their ignorance of his being the overriding REALITY in all creation. That’s the crazy thing that they didn’t see but Habakkuk saw. They placed their faith in that which was temporal… idols and sin. Habakkuk saw what was eternal… GOD… and he realized that his only hope was in placing all he had on God. Judah ultimately paid the price for their foolishness… for failing to trust in God for their deliverance.

Today it is sad to say, but our culture is the same. We have chosen not to trust in God… to live in ignorance of his being the overwhelming REALITY in all that exists. This world is not contingent on what we believe but we live like it is. The world is contingent upon who God is… and we are suffering because our mindset has been so warped to think that we can make God who we want him to be. We fail to see as Habakkuk did… that he OWNS it all. He made it all… he can unmake it all at any moment. We have chosen ignorance… thinking it bliss… when the TRUTH is that this world is fallen and broken and utterly desperate for God without even knowing it. We need God’s hand… yet we reject it. We are hungry and thirsty for the bread of life… for his living water… yet we don’t even know it and would rather walk around in the deception that the temporal things of this world can somehow fulfill us.
Luke 18:7-8
‘And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

(This picture is a few years old... but a waterfall I went to on a hike in Arizona... a place called Havasu Canyon. This was probably the most vivid example of living water I have ever experienced. This place was a true oasis. In the middle of the desert outside the Grand Canyon this place springs up... it was the clearest most beautiful water I had ever seen... especially after hiking 10 miles without the hint of any water...)