Dear Prayer Warriors,
The notion in this famous quote, “you may be the only Bible a person reads.” is exactly what Sanctification is. The world needs Christians progressing in Sanctification. Unbelieving spectators witness believers go from conversion to Christlikeness, from the old self to the new self, BC to AD, from spiritual milk to spiritual meat. It gives way to human repentance and learning who God is. It’s a messy change whose refining lasts a lifetime. I love seeing it in the people the Bible writes about like Peter, Jonah and for this entry Habakkuk.
For me, the book of Habakkuk is a book on prayer. It’s a series of three prayers, honest, emotional and God turns it for the sanctification of His prophet. Habakkuk, like me, will use an attribute of God to leverage or manipulate his prayer petition. His first prayer questions the Lord with lamenting and accusation:
“How long, Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.” Habakkuk 1:2-4
The prophet questions God’s control and justice because he sees the wicked nations winning and becoming enormous. How could a pure, good God standby? “Why do bad things happen to “good” people if God is good?” More personally for me: “the God I know heals so what’s the holdup God? It makes perfect sense to heal right now.” I get frustrated and discontented that He is not making good on His healing attribute. I think Habakkuk sounds a little narrow minded like me, a bit manipulative in prayer.
Since God is Sovereign and in control of time, I’m challenged to think that God applies all His attributes to all His decisions, perhaps weighing more heavily on one attribute than another to answer a specific prayer. For example, instead of choosing to be Jehovah Rapha (healer) at my demand, He chooses to reply to my prayers as Jehovah Jireh (provider) to make sure we are equipped to care for Anna. Why? For the same reason he gave Habakkuk:
God replies “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told” Hab 1:5.
Habakkuk must have been a humble person because God chooses to respond directly with words. If he petitioned God in pride perhaps Habakkuk too would get swallowed up by a big fish. Instead, God is gracious to him and insightful. The Lord’s reply suggests to the prophet that it’s a question of scope, too often in prayer I come with narrow scope asking for narrow things that I don’t end up getting because God’s scope is all encompassing and completely considerate. My scope is what I think is best. A more righteous prayer acknowledges God’s character first. After God’s reply, the prophet considers who God is a bit more by saying to Yahweh: “Your eyes are too pure, you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate those who are treacherous?” Habakkuk 1:13. A good question to ask in prayer is: “Lord what attribute of yourself are you showing me in this situation, help me be in step with it. “
As Habakkuk’s conversation (prayer) continues, God builds him up and assures Habakkuk that the path of a righteous person will be walked out in faith even if it’s totally dark all around. “Look, his (the enemy) ego is inflated, he is without integrity. But the righteous shall live by faith” Habakkuk 2:4. This helps me see that God obliges sin’s fallout because He is just, longsuffering and because we act in our own free will. Through it all, God tells His children how to live when the days are evil. We must be reminded that God is in control of all events while being completely present, holy, good, loving, eternal, forgiving, and wrathful simultaneously (I’m leaving many other attributes out). Glory to God that by His Word of Truth mankind is offered to stand on it.
The “Ah-ha!” moment I share with Habakkuk is that he realizes that God is involved all along. The Lord assures Habakkuk the most wicked will be used by Him and then disposed of. To me, this culminates in reverence. “But the LORD is in His holy temple; let everyone on earth be silent in His presence.” Habakkuk 2:20. It makes me pause before coming to Jesus all hot-headed. I want to pray “show me to accept Your will!” Or simpler still, “what can You change my perspective on?” These are questions of a strong meaty faith.
The last observation I yielded to is how Habakkuk stopped to hear God’s answer. After stating what he is seeing, Habakkuk parks it. He listens expectantly and makes space for God to reply, “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint” Habakkuk 2:1. In this conversation Habakkuk seems to become “Ok” with God dispensing His proposed destruction of Judah. the Prophet poetically writes about God’s omnipotence with pleading, “…in your wrath remember mercy.” And “You march across the earth with indignation, you trample down the nations in wrath. You come out to save your people and to save your Anointed.” Habakkuk 3:13. How faithful of God that amid sin’s consequences so rampant in that day, His Messianic promise remained assured amid the wrath!
God’s gift contained in this book for me is how Yahweh seemed silent and absent, but after seeking Him and waiting, Yahweh replies. In my prayer life, with losing my son, amid a life with young kids, work, things to do and people to see, school shootings, snipers, etc… How have I made space for God to reply? Where is my quiet vigilant watchtower where the humble are answered and satisfied in God. Habakkuk leaves with a right vantage point, the right scope and worship of God. He is renewed, refreshed to follow God even with impending exile. This is his humbling conclusion in praise and adoration:
“Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will triumph in Yahweh;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
Yahweh my Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer
and enables me to walk on mountain heights!” Habakkuk 3:17-19
In faith, could I say the same thing? Wow. In sharing with you as I do, I hope the Holy Spirit shows something to replicate. Of course I encourage you to read that short book afresh in His company. In my reading with Anna, I came across a verse that puts a bow on this, “If Your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction” Ps 119:92.
Hopeful in Christ,
Nic
