The prophet, Habakkuk wrote a relatively short message, compared to Isaiah and some of the other "major" prophets ... even most of the other "minor" prophets, but the message he brought to God's people bears the power of the Spirit to encourage those who believe to "live by faith!"
Habakkuk begins with a "complaint" to the LORD, his God. "How long shall I cry for help, and You do not hear? Or cry to You, 'Violence!' and You do not save?" It is almost as if the prophet is living today!! God's answer was to tell Habakkuk that HE was going to send the Chaldeans (Babylonians), a desperately wicked people with an overpowering army filled with evil, to bring judgment on His own people, Judah. Thousands would be killed, the temple would be destroyed and nearly all the rest would be taken into captivity in a foreign land.
When Habakkuk heard God's plan he was astounded! How could a holy God permit such evil to take place? Surely this would not happen! But God gives to Habakkuk the truth that several hundred years later would be quoted by the Apostle Paul in explaining the Gospel of Jesus Christ: "The righteous shall live by his faith!" (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17). God was telling Habakkuk that those who would be saved spiritually would be those who believed His promises, who trusted in Him and who did not lose hope, for HE would save them.
Habakkuk then prayed, "O LORD, I have heard the report of You, and Your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2). All of this was pointing ahead to the coming of Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for sin for all who would believe ... all whom God had chosen to be His. The mark of a true believer is "living by faith," enduring trials and suffering in this world, all the while believing in the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. One day we will live by SIGHT, but now we live by faith!
God taught the prophet Habakkuk a lesson we who know Him need to learn today. Throughout 2020 God was with His people and was and is working to accomplish His purpose to bring judgment on some, while bringing hope and salvation to those who believe in Him. In spite of what we SEE, evil will not win! Whatever happens this week, evil will not win. Judgment is coming upon our nation and the world ... of that we can be certain. How? When? Only God knows. But our testimony must be the same as that of Habakkuk:
"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on my high places!" (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
May you have a truly blessed new year as you live by faith and as you rejoice in the Lord, your God!!
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