“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habukkak 3:19
I have confessed my affection for little books, and now another confession. The small book of the Bible that I find most intriguing and my favorite is the book of Habakkuk. I was excited when our Bible study recently spent two weeks in this little book. It is only three chapters long, and I invite you to read it for the first time or the 50th time when you can. Because the Bible is timeless, Habakkuk can bring clarity and peace to the turbulent times we live in now or help you navigate a rocky path you may be walking.
Habakkuk has always intrigued me because it is not a book of sermons or prophetic announcements. It is the recorded conversation between a man and his God. Habakkuk is troubled by the life of a nation, Judah. He questioned God why he would allow Judah to pursue an ungodly path. He couldn’t understand why God would allow the circumstances to continue, which would eventually lead to the destruction of Judah by the Babylonians. Sound familiar to you? How often, when we turn on the television or look at our phones, do we ask God why the violence, hate, and war and when will it end? Or why the sickness, injustice, financial instability, or family turmoil? How long will it last?
Habakkuk did not hold back from asking God the hard questions. We are not unlike Habakkuk; we want to know why. We falsely believe the confusion and fear of our circumstances or worldly circumstances will be soothed by just knowing the plan. In reality, if we knew the plan or could understand God’s mysterious ways in the framework of our flawed humanity, we would think we had a better plan.
Habakkuk sets a beautiful pattern to emulate when life is perplexing and challenging. First, practice patience and allow God to be God. The Lord told Habakkuk, “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” (Hab 1:5). God’s ways are not our ways. His ways will always leave us standing in amazement if we allow Him to work in our lives. Secondly, he reminded himself of who God is (Hab 1:12-17). We can do the same by studying God’s undeniable nature found in His word. Just a few characteristics of God are holiness (Rev 15:4), eternal (John 4:24), sovereign (Psalm 147:5), immutable (Heb 13:8) and love (1 John 4:8). In chapter two, Habakkuk purposed himself to pray and wait on the Lord’s answer to his question. God knows the answers to all our prayers, and He will answer those prayers in His way and on His timeline. When we know God, not just know of God, trusting Him with the answers and the timing will bring us peace and comfort even during unexplainable circumstances.
And lastly, in chapter three, Habakkuk’s prayer turned to praise. It reminds me of the song by Cast in Crowns, I Will Praise You in the Storm. “For You are who You are no matter where I am…..and though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm.” These lyrics depict one of my favorite verses, “though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes 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 rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Hab 3:17-18). Amen! Praise Him that He can be trusted with absolutely everything that touches our lives that we cannot understand or control. And that’s your Tuesday Tidbit.
Jim Lowe, a photographer who beautifully captures his stunning Shenandoah Valley, Virginia countryside and wildlife, took the picture.