The prophet Habakkuk. He was a contemporary of Zephaniah and Jeremiah. This trio of prophets lived during some very trying and confusing times. Habakkuk begins his book with a prayer of brutal honesty before God.
O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. (Habakkuk 1:2–3, NKJV)
Yes, Habakkuk is distressed at the sin and corruption of his fellow countrymen, the impending exile to Babylon, and God’s silence on the whole matter.
Faith Is Our Victory
But God does answer! In fact, there is a bit of back-and-forth in chapters 1-2 between God and Habakkuk. In the middle of this back-and-forth, God tells Habakkuk to write His words down in stone, including the following two verses.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:3–4, NKJV)
In other words, God says that He will deal with the distressing situation Habakkuk sees, but in time. In the meantime, there is a victorious way to live amid all the confusion and wickedness. It is certainly not to chase riches, security, power, pleasure, or idolatry (Habakkuk 2:5-20). It is to live by faith—the just shall live by faith!
Music to the Soul
God’s response completely changed Habakkuk’s outlook, and he wrote a song. This song starts out and ends with an amazing confession. Notice the end of this song.
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no meat; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:17–18, KJV)
Joy Despite the Conditions
Amid confusing, distressing times, we can quickly be overwhelmed by what we see and overcome by fear. But as Habakkuk found, the key was to focus on trusting God and living by faith, stop focusing so intently on the day’s conditions. Habakkuk could say, though he was in for a long, hard ride, I will rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation! Faith made a big difference from the beginning in chapter 1:2-3 and the end in chapter 3:17-18!
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Habakkuk 1-3.