Even Though
Spending time with God a lot of times takes the back seat. We know we must, we know we need it, yet "there never seems to be time." I'm guilty of it! There are seasons where I'm on top of it and loving it, and others where one day turns into a week of not spending time with God. What I can absolutely affirm is time with God never returns void.
I recently finished a devotional on the book of Habakkuk, and it was excellent, and I highly recommended it! I find myself thinking back a lot on it and what I read. I guess because it is so fitting to something I currently have been asking God to help me with, and that's trusting His timing and purpose. What has me particularly concerned is what is happening in our culture.
The book of Habakkuk is a prayer/conversation between Habakkuk and God. One of Habakkuk's pleas to God was, how long was God going to allow the evil around him to happen? I can imagine you probably ask God this same question. I certainly do. It doesn't take much these days, with so much evil cultivating our culture. But I wanted to share this small piece of the devotional that has helped me ground my trust in God.
"All around Habakkuk was violence and disorder. Sin was everywhere that he had turned. Even those who were supposed to be serving the Lord were unjust and serving only themselves. Unity was nowhere to be found.
Habakkuk's prayer even tells us that the law was paralyzed by the sin and wickedness of the people. They did not turn to the Lord because they were worshiping themselves. They did not think they needed the law at all. Justice is the law of God rightly applied, so with the discarding of the law came the discarding of justice."
"At some point in our lives, we will need to reconcile our theology and our experience. We will have to wrestle with the evil in the world when we serve a good God."
"And in those moments when we don't understand where God is or what He is doing, we will be tempted to change our theology to align with what is happening in the world….. In those moments, we must not interpret God's Word through the lens of our circumstance, but we must interpret our circumstance through the lens of God's Word."
Reading this had me making a little sense of our current culture chaos. The challenge continues to be the same for us. Habakkuk gives us a great example during so much confusion. He prays! He asked/pledged to God, and He listened for the words that would bring comfort and peace from God.
I think sometimes we underestimate and misunderstand why we pray. A lot of times, we aren't getting answers or miracles right away and wonder, "where the heck is God!" I believe in miracles 100%! But there is A LOT of waiting and patience that goes on for those who trust in the Lord (as I realized from Habakkuk). But in prayer, we find a peace that surpasses all understanding. Things didn't immediately change for Habakkuk to worship God, but he was grounding his concerns in trusting a sovereign God.
A lot of times, we want peace to be in the things we see in our world. But the truth is we live in a world of evil and sin (as we see in Habakkuk, too). God's ways and timing are things we don't always understand. But, God does not ignore or overlook evil or injustice. He is gracious, and His grace continues to be extended to everyone until the appointed time comes. God is sovereign, and His justice will come.
Through all this chaos, Habakkuk's anguish shifted to worship.
Strength and joy are in His dwelling place (from 1Chro. 16:27). Worship shifted Habbakkuk's perspective, and that's something we can do in our own lives, too. He praised God because of who He is- good and merciful, gracious and sovereign.
Habakkuk 7-19:
17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
I hope this encourages you to true your eyes to God and trust Him; and May you find your peace, joy, and strength in Him!