The challenge that faced Habakkuk concerning what he saw in the world around him is eerily reminiscent for the bride of Christ today. There are so many similarities I think it takes a lot of work to miss the warning God has set before us.

Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. KJV

Have you ever looked around your world and just lifted up your face to God and asked… “What’s going on Lord, I need an answer.” I know, silly question… who hasn’t?

Well the prophet Habakkuk went through that with God and the answer he received involved a couple of things. First and foremost, his conversation with God wound up in his being called from the priesthood into the office of prophet because God’s answer was for all Judah; the southern kingdom. And if we listen carefully, it’s a message for the bride. After wondering and struggling with his question in Chapter 1, in Chapter 2 Habakkuk began to do what he knew would give him the answer. He asked his question of God and then he retreated to his tower to wait, watch, and listen for God’s answer… he decided to DIE!

DETERMINE

The very first thing he did when he wanted to get an answer was to “determine to take action”… I will stand upon my watch. He didn’t decide to think about setting aside some time to sit with God, he took action. He needed an answer and he “determined” to seek God. In the words of Jeremiah:

Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. KJV

But it’s so much easier to say that we are going to “seek the Lord” than to “determine” to seek Him. We can’t just have an intention to seek Him, we have to decide, dictate, and establish our intent to take action. Our lack of “action” is quite often the very reason we don’t get our answer. Do you climb up in your tower and seek God’s answer? If you do, don’t forget the second part.

ISOLATE

If you are like me, it’s hard to “isolate” yourself from the world without significant effort. Setting aside time to sit in your tower won’t accomplish much if you don’t leave your tablet, your cell phone, and your wandering thoughts down below. If we want to hear from the Lord we have to get away from all distractions. We will never hear the voice of the Spirit if we continue to allow the voices of the world constantly ring in our ears. I think that’s why the Lord told us to rise up early and spend time with Him. That is the purest part of the day and since I started doing that years ago, my days are “flat” when i fail to spend that early time with Him. But just showing up isn’t enough.

EXPECT

We to come into His presence expecting to hear from Him… watch to see what he will say unto me. Notice that Habakkuk didn’t say what He “might” say or what I “hope” He will say or what I “wish” He will say. No, he said “He will say” to me! That, in a nutshell, is what Paul wrote in Hebrews:

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. KJV

When we stop and think about it, there are so many ways that we can please the Lord, so many ways we can show our love, our thanks, and our appreciation. But there is no way that surpasses our exercising our faith. That’s what Habakkuk demonstrated for us. He climbed up in his tower and Determined to Isolate himself from the world to seek the Lord, and he Expected to get his answer. How true that is for us. If we don’t come before the Lord expecting to hear from Him we can be certain we won’t!

So if you Determine, Isolate, and Expect, how can you know if God is speaking to you?

I learned a long time ago that a key part of spending time “watching” and “seeking” was to be prepared for “hearing.” As I sit in the early morning hours with my Bible, there is a journal sitting by my side. It’s my way of speaking out in faith… Lord, I know you will answer me, and I’m ready to record what You say. BUT...

Habakkuk said he was going to get away, seek God, and see what He had to say… but that wasn’t all! He knew that what he was going to hear would carry with it some responsibility…  what I shall answer when I am reproved.

And that, I have learned, is one of the most important elements in hearing from the Lord. If I climb up in my tower, seek Him, and expect to hear from Him, but I don’t take action with respect to what He tells me, I shouldn’t be surprised if He stops talking to me. At least in my life that’s the case. If the Holy Spirit “reproves” me (towkechah; chastens, corrects, rebukes) and I fail to respond, I can come back with question after question but the Spirit doesn’t move beyond the last answer He gave me. That’s where the journal comes in. If you aren’t getting the answer you are looking for, just look back a few items in your journal and I bet you will see the “answer” you have left “unanswered.”

Remember, Habakkuk asked the question and the Lord’s first response was:

Hab 2:2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. KJV

That’s the part we quite often don’t want to deal with. And look at the last part of that verse… make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. As is always the case, what the Holy Spirit is doing in our life has consequences beyond “our” life. Every action of the Spirit has implications that involve the “Glory of God”… the very Glory we carry in our hearts. And His interest is that those who may run can clearly read it in our life. It’s always about others and that’s why we can’t fail to ask, listen, and respond.

So, the next time you have a burning question that you desperately need an answer for… DIE!