STAND, WAIT, BELIEVE
Habakkuk was a literary prophet who prophesized to Judah
between 612 B.C. and 605 B. His heart broke for a world disintegrating around
him. He longed to understand why evil
existed, and always appeared to win.
Habakkuk boldly brought his complaint to God, and then waited for God’s
answer. God’s answer and the comfort it
offers are timeless. “Though the answer may linger, wait for it! It will certainly come, and will not delay.”
Have you ever asked the Lord “why””? Have you ever
questioned what was happening in your life, and wondered why you hadn’t heard
from God? “I will stand at my watch,”
Habakkuk declared, “and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what
he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint” (Habakkuk
2:1). Habakkuk stood firm, and declared he would not move until He had heard
from God. He did not stand in an attitude of his right to have an answer, but
one of humility in the awareness of God’s faithfulness. Having brought his
question to God, he believed He would hear. He stood, and he
waited.
When I
don’t understand something in my life, do I go to God respectfully in prayer?
Do I wait for His answer, and believe
that I will receive it? “Do not throw away your confidence; it
will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere,” the writer of Hebrews
proclaims, “so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he
has promised” (Hebrews 10:36). My confidence in God in revealed in my ability to
stand firm and wait for His answer. There is a promise. If I have done the will
of God, I will receive what He has promised.
The Lord replied to Habakkuk, “Write
down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with
it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will
not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will
not delay” (Habakkuk 1:2-3). Habakkuk received an answer, and the Lord told him
to write it down and announce it. It might take awhile for the revelation to
occur, but it would happen. Writing my revelation–proclaiming my
promise–speaking it aloud–requires faith. And without faith it is impossible to
please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Read how the next few verses in Habakkuk and Hebrews meld
together. “In just a little while, he
who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews
10:37). “Though it [He] linger, wait for it; it will surely come and not delay”
(Habakkuk 1:2-3). “The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove
false” (Habakkuk 1:3a). The righteous person will live by his faithfulness
(Habakkuk 1:4b). “But my righteous one will
live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who
shrinks back. But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are
destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved” (Hebrews
10:38-39).
When I wait for my answer, I wait for
Him. He will not linger in His answer to me. His answer will be sure. It may
take awhile, but it will come, and it will true. I will live by faith, and will
not shrink from standing firm in Him. I am not one who will be destroyed. I will
see His hand move in answer to my need.
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