Thursday Devotional - Faithful God when Confusion Continues (5/18/23)

Habakkuk was certainly confused by God’s plan to use the Babylonians to punish Judah! He took all his questions directly to God. He first acknowledged God’s eternal, holy, just and Sovereign character.

Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 LORD, are you not from everlasting?

    My God, my Holy One, you will never die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;
    you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
    you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
    Why are you silent while the wicked
    swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
¹⁴ You have made people like the fish in the sea,
    like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
¹⁵ The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
    he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
    and so he rejoices and is glad.
¹⁶ Therefore he sacrifices to his net
    and burns incense to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
    and enjoys the choicest food.
¹⁷ Is he to keep on emptying his net,
    destroying nations without mercy?

2:1 I will stand at my watch
    and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
    and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

I love how Habakkuk first remembered God’s attributes before he relayed his additional questions. Then, he resolved to expectantly wait for God’s second response! I want to do the same with some issues going on in my life.

It’s always comforting to focus on God’s attributes first. It helps me have a better perspective. We have been dealing with several issues (for years) with one of our children. As much as we pray for help and try different approaches, things don’t seem to improve. In fact, it seems some issues have gotten worse and not better! I know it isn’t a surprise to God and He has a plan. I want to be like Habakkuk and station myself above the chaos (“station myself on the ramparts”) to be able to clearly hear God’s answer and direction for next steps.

How about you? What situation is frustrating or confusing to you right now? Will you take time to first praise God for who He is and list out His attributes? Then, take your honest questions to him and position yourself in a place to clearly hear His response.

Alice

Faithful God when His Answer is Confusing (5/11/23)

When Habakkuk asked God about the injustice in Judah, God answered by stating He would use Babylon to address Judah’s injustice and wickedness! 

Habakkuk 1:6-11    I am raising up the Babylonians,
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
    to seize dwellings not their own.
⁷ They are a feared and dreaded people;
    they are a law to themselves
    and promote their own honor.
⁸ Their horses are swifter than leopards,
    fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
    their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
⁹     they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners like sand.
¹⁰ They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps they capture them.
¹¹ Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—
    guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”

God knew Habakkuk would be confused, so He up front acknowledge all the wickedness of the Babylonians. They were ruthless, arrogant, violent, haughty, and prideful! It would be like God saying He is going to use totally evil terrorists to judge the wickedness in our country. Yet, that was His plan.

Habakkuk pleaded with God to address the violence and injustice (as we saw a couple weeks ago). God graciously answered him with specific details. He would be faithful to avenge injustice, but it wasn’t going to be the way Habakkuk would expect.

Have you ever been confused by God’s answer? Like Habakkuk, we are finite and can’t see the big picture. We can trust God and His plans and His timing. We can be thankful for His personal responses, even if it doesn’t make sense to us. He is Faithful!

Alice

Faithful God when He seems silent 4/27/23

Is God listening? Why does God tolerate injustice? Why doesn’t God do something? Do you ever ask God those questions? Habakkuk did. He wondered why God continued to seemingly sit back while Judah continued to get more and more wicked.

Habakkuk 1:1-6    The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

² How long, Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?
³ 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.
⁴ Therefore the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice is perverted.

The Lord’s Answer

⁵ “Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.
⁶ I am raising up the Babylonians,
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
    to seize dwellings not their own.

God was working and had a plan, even though Habakkuk couldn’t see it yet. Today, we may think it looks like God is silent, but He is working and has a plan.

Where do we take our questions? Do we talk to everyone else about our frustrations and the continued evil around us? Or, like Habakkuk, do we talk to God about it and expect and look for His response? As we study the Bible, we will hear some of His answers! He already has a plan in place through the very end!

Alice