I continue to return to Habakkuk, his words stir my soul, encourage my heart, and direct my focus to look upward.
It can be quite disheartening to see or read about what is unfolding in our world. Add to that any challenges in our personal lives and we can find ourselves wondering where is God in all of the happenings?
And this is why Habakkuk is my favorite book. He constantly reminds me:
“But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:20, NASB)
We can forget this. God has never vacated His throne. He remains seated there – for all time, in every circumstance of life.
He will ever be faithful to His Word.
I remember when 9/11 occurred. The next morning I listened to Chuck Swindoll on the radio and have never forgotten what he said. He had received many phone calls and emails of people asking, “Where was God?” To each he responded, “God was where He has always been and will always be – seated on His throne.”
God will never give up His authority nor lose His power.
Habakkuk also delivers reminders of who our God is:
- God is near to us. We re reminded of all God created so that we see His nearness all around us.
- God is light. His radiance reminds us that the darkness will never eclipse or block Him. In Him, there is no darkness.
- God is eternal. He will carry out His plan and purposes.
All of these should remind us that God, our Rock, is immovable. He is steadfast and faithful.
“The same God who has come near to us in salvation longs to come near to us each day.”
(from Even If, by The Daily Grace Co., page 69)
But Habakkuk delivers one more reminder every time I open to his words.
Even if ..
Even if we face the hardest circumstances.
Even if the Lord doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want.
Even then …
Even then the Lord will be with us.
Even then we will keep our eyes on Him.
“Habakkuk teaches us to face our doubts and questions honestly, take them humbly to the Lord, wait for His Word to teach us, and then worship Him no matter how we feel or what we see. God doesn’t always change the circumstances, but He can change us to meet the circumstances. That’s what it means to live by faith.”
(from The Wiersbe Study Bible, page 1350)
“Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18, NASB)
Habakkuk truly is my favorite book of the Bible. I was 28YO when today’s verses were first introduced to me. I wrestled with them for a long time. I knew the Lord was asking the question, “Will you be faithful even if I don’t answer the way you want?”
It’s a hard question for sure.
Even if He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want,
will we be faithful to Him?
Praying Habakkuk’s words always brings us to the point of surrender –
yes, we will be faithful.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Image by Garik Barseghyan from Pixabay
Joanne, hi. Yes, remembering that God is on the throne grounds us deep in faith and hope. It keeps us from wringing our hands and imagining worse case scenarios. It gives us peace.
Joanne,
I’m right behind you hanging onto your belt loop! I’m reading Ezra for all the same reasons. The phrase that sticks out to me is
“The gracious hand of the Lord”
Even if he answers our prayers differently from what we hoped, he is good. Thank you for pointing us back to Jesus.
“Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” May we always rejoice in the blessing of our Saviour Jesus.
Thank you for hosting Joanne.
Blessings, Jennifer
Habakkuk is one of my favorite books of the Bible, too–favorite minor prophet for sure. The circumstances he faced were jolting, but “even then,” God is good and in control.
Joanne, this is the question for all Christians, “will you be faithful when no answer comes or when we do not receive the one we asked for?” Which then causes us to question why we chose to place our faith in Christ to start with. Did we choose to follow Him because of blessings we wanted to receive or because we love Him and deeply desire a relationship with Him? Do we even understand the transaction that took place on the cross securing our salvation?
Joanne, I feel we all have to come to that crossroads before we can move forward in our faith. As Peter said, “To whom else can we go?”
Oh I love this too…
This is one of my favorites of your posts, Joanne. Thank you for a timely reminder.
Every time we focus on the wind and the waves, we sink, but when we focus on Him, we can sit, walk, or run. I find that keeping our focus on Him is a key to staying in His peace.
So much encouragement here, Joanne.
Thanks, Joanne, for this powerful reminder. We all need to enoucrage one another with these words.
When I remember God’s sovereignty and his goodness I am changed.