Walking in Faith

Reading: Habakkuk 3:16-19

¹⁶ I hear, and my body trembles;
my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord

¹⁷ 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,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹ God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

What was the basis of his confidence?

Habakkuk knows that God is his strength (v. 19) and that the things that God says he will do, he does (v. 16). There is no question in Habakkuk’s mind.

How had his attitudes changed since the beginning of the book?

In the beginning, Habakkuk would frustrated with God, asking God why He would let the things happen to them that were happening. How God could just sit by and watch while such violence was overtaking God’s chosen people. But now, after Habakkuk has heard God’s response, he knows that God has a plan. That God will take the Israelites to the end of their rope so that they have no where else to turn to but Him. Habakkuk knows that God is in control, that He is not just sitting idly by and not doing anything about it.

What, precisely, had made the difference?

A continual answer to Habakkuk’s prayers by the Lord let him know that God was there, that God does care and that God is in control. Assurance like that makes all the difference, in my mind.

Can you think of examples of your own attitudes changing in this way?

Absolutely!!! I can think of times that my attitude has changed from apathy to empathy over a situation, or where I have had to step back, cry out to God and realize that He truly is in control. (you can just look at my entry for Aug 17 to see that). The biggest one that I can think of for me has been just the complete turn around that my life has taken in the past 3 (or so) years since finding a church home. My whole life has been renewed in and rededicated to Christ in such a profound way. Lately, the biggest has been our family’s desire to be a part of a church plant (which, even just a year or so ago, I might have even laughed at the thought). We are joyfully making some huge sacrifices in our lives (well, we’re trying to be joyful, sometimes it’s really hard) and remembering through the tougher times of the situation that we’re not doing this because we think it’s fun or something – we’re doing this out of a calling by the Lord. The Lord just has such an amazing way of molding, shaping and changing a person’s attitudes… I love watching Him work!!