Yesterday the Lord reminded me of a word that He gave me on January 1, 2016. As I read through it in my journal I reflected on the scripture He gave me to study; Habakkuk. The majority of His message to me was directed to my question… “What is my vision for 2016?” In particular I reflected on the prophet’s question to God regarding the challenges facing Israel and what he wrote in chapter 3.

For me, Habakkuk 3 is the centerpiece of the book. It reveals a message that is at the heart of where the bride of Christ is today; how faith triumphs over the confusion of sin, tyranny, and destruction. In verse 2 Habakkuk no longer asks God to withdraw His threatened judgement, he acknowledges that God is free to do what He wants to do and is absolutely right in doing it…

Hab 3:2a O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear.

His eyes are opened and he no longer looks at God’s coming judgement of Israel at the hands of Babylon. His perspective changes as he realizes that he has only been looking at his immediate problems instead of looking at them in the light of God. That’s a challenge for us, especially in the midst of all the problems facing America here at the beginning of 2021.

What has been our response?

We complain about all of the national tragedies and forget to reflect on whether God is trying to say something through all of these events. Do we see the present situation as Jesus’ bride or do we continue to ask the question… “Why does God allow this? What have we done to deserve this?” Those questions ignore the answer. By and large the church has failed to realize that the present condition in which she finds herself may well be the result of her denying the supernatural hand of God. Has she failed to humble herself in repentance? Has she failed to focus on The Kingdom? A self-centered bride focuses on her own afflictions and fails to bring glory to God. She should harken to the response God gave to Habakkuk…

The life referred to here is our day-to-day living. We see that in chapter 3 where Habakkuk has a sense of peace even as he contemplates the invasion of Israel by Babylon. The joy of the Lord he experienced was real, just as it was for Paul … Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice (Phil 4:4). That peace and joy were the result of Habakkuk looking back on what God had done for Israel in the face of pending doom; parting the Red Sea and parting the Jordan River. He was standing on what God had already done and as a result he was living by his faith. 

The message that I took away was that our faith is based on facts, not ideas. We’re saved by facts, not by ideas, and we need to live every day by faith in those facts. What we are facing today is no different than what Habakkuk faced and we likewise need to stop looking at our circumstances and start looking at The One who holds the world in His hand. We can all look back and reflect on the many times that God has come through for us when the enemy has overwhelmed us … because we have been looking at the circumstances from our perspective, not God’s. 

The bride needs to keep her eyes lifted up and focused on her bridegroom, reflect on all that He has done for us, and stand fast like Habakkuk…

Hab 3: 13 You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah

Pause and think on that.

This Wednesday’s Video Challenge
030 How Do We Discern God’s Will – Part 4