Read: Habakkuk 1-2
This week, I met the newest member of my extended family. Baby David who is now six months old. He is my great-great-nephew. My sister married very young. As I held this contented little bundle, I told him the joys of what is to come. You know. Precious things like chocolate cake and ice cream which have not yet been introduced into his diet. Things like knowledge of his Uncle Fernando, now in heaven who would have carefully pronounced his name in little David's ears so he would learn it at a very young age. He was happy there nestled in my arms in the rocking chair. Especially since he could see mama not very far from him. There is so much he will learn in the coming months and years, but for now, all the things he can't yet understand such as setting the clocks ahead one hour don't matter at all to him. They are concerns and details for another day.
Today I'm thinking that we who belong to Jesus have a great deal in common with little David. The problem is that because of the many things we have learned, we sometimes forget that fact. There are many things we do understand in this fast-moving world; even so, we often bump up against a brick wall as we try to understand what is going on all around us. Thankfully, we're not alone in our quandary. Let's remember Habakkuk's story and be reminded that even more than 2,000 years ago, a man was as befuddled as we sometimes find ourselves.
We are not certain exactly when Habakkuk lived. It was likely close to the time of Judah's being taken into captivity by the Babylonians. Perhaps during part of Josiah's reign and the kings who ruled after him. In Habakkuk 1, we see the pain the prophet endured as he watched the wickedness of his countrymen increasing. The violence bothered him greatly, and he wondered when his God would act. We can read the verses and feel Habakkuk's burden as we watch the increase of wickedness in our own land. We see Habakkuk's confusion when God told His man how He would remedy the problem. He would use the wicked Babylonians as a means of judging Judah. I love Habakkuk's honesty. Basically, he said that God's way made no sense at all. Why use the proud malicious people who would only become more prideful and arrogant if they won yet another victory? God's answer in chapter 2 is one we often see in the Bible.
God said that in the long run, He would judge the wicked and bless the ones who lived by faith, Habakkuk 2:4. Yes, Babylon would have its day, but it would only last until God's purposes were accomplished. If Habakkuk would look way down the road, He would be reminded that the knowledge of the Lord would one day fill the earth, Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 40:5. We know from the rest of Habakkuk's book that the prophet found peace through trusting the Lord. No doubt, there was much that Habakkuk didn't understand concerning all that God would do during the up-coming years. Yet, like little David, being able to see the One Who loved him brought him rest and comfort. Could Habakkuk, in the midst of the turmoil he saw all around him imagine a world that overflowed with the knowledge of God? Can we?
Yet, we know that the world we inhabit will someday be like that. Right now, it is so hard to fathom how all the wrongs could be made right. Yet, God wants to remind us that Jesus' victory over sin and death opened the door for every impossibility to become possible. We can't understand, as Habakkuk couldn't completely understand, how God will do it. Yet, we know He Who cannot lie, (Titus 1:2) will accomplish every purpose in our lives (Psalm 138:8) and what is true for us individually is also true for the world. No wonder Paul tells us to set our hearts and minds on things above, rather than dwelling on the myriads of occurrences that we can't understand right now, (Colossians 3:1-4).
It is freeing, when we like Habakkuk, simply run to the Lord. Bringing our questions and our lack of understanding. Coming to Him for comfort and resting in the truth that He knows how to fix things that we can't possibly piece together. Trusting the One Who made everything and also sustains it, (Colossians 1:16-17).
A picture of resting in the Lord: Psalm 131, A Childlike Spirit, A Davidic song of ascents.
1 LORD, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I do not get involved with things
too great or too difficult for me.
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself
like a little weaned child with its mother;
I am like a little child.