The post from yesterday was the disturbance in my Spirit.
I have come to believe that it is critically important to be transparent in our hearts and know that God understands our pain.
It may be difficult for us to imagine but God himself had to deal with this very same pain as a father whose eyes witnessed his son humiliated tortured and then executed by mean men with stone hearts.
He also had to face the fear.
He saw it through the Father & he saw it through Jesus.
Habakkuk did not have, as Paul Harvey says, “The Rest of the Story.” When he climbed up into the watch tower to wait for God’s answer, he had no idea what the answer would be or if the answer would bring the desired relief.
[The post from yesterday and below are not verbatim quotes from Habakkuk. I encourage everyone to read the full text of the three chapters to obtain full context of this passage. My intent is to show that faithful men and women of God have valid questions about pain and injustice. We should not ignore the pain or deny its importance, because to do so would be to deny our very hearts.]
The Lord replied, “Look at the nations and be amazed!
Watch and be astounded at what I will do!
For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.
Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else.
But these things I plan won’t happen right away.
Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.
“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked;* but the righteous will live by their faith.*
Wealth* is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest.
They range far and wide, with their mouths opened as wide as death,* but they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations and peoples.
But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; 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, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer* and bring me safely over the mountains.
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It is again astounding how many of the things we that we have been moved in our spirits to speak about are also playing out in extreme examples on the world stage. God is- and will continue to take even tragic occurances like this and use them to reveal his glory. A more striking lesson about non- violence, pre- determined loyalty and principle, spiritual fearlessness towards death, the power of love…and FORGIVENESS could not be.
Take note- I also heard today that that group from Kansas that goes around protesting at the funerals of soldiers and proclaiming to people how God hates them because of the unrighteousness and sin in our culture and that all the death and destruction is a judgement from God…are making their way to Pennsylvania to protest at the funerals of the slain amish girls. A few of the good fellows I work with were highly upset about this today as we discussed it. We also had been discussing the amazing conviction and resolve of the Amish. I have no doubt that the Amish will aslo forgive those that desecrate, defile and disrespect their loved ones funerals…. if the protesters actually make it to Pennsylvania.
If the protesters actually do make it….we shall see from the Amish an even more astounding demonstration of how people of God are supposed to behave even in the most horrific of circumstances. God will use this event to even more brilliantly shine light and goodness in ever deeper contrast to violence, death, hatred, injustice, foolishness and the pathetic weakness of evil.
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