The Righteous will live by Faith
Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, 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 faithfulness to God. '(Habakkuk 2:2-4)
The book of Habakkuk is an excellent illustration of how we, as Christians, should live good lives by remaining faithful to God.
The book of Habakkuk is a very interesting book in the Bible because it is written as a dialogue between God and the prophet. If we look at the timeline of all the events in this book, we can see that it was a very difficult time for the nation of Israel. There were multiple kings who came and went who were evil in nature and never listened to what God said, which caused the entire nation to be divided into two areas: the northern kingdom, which is now known as Israel, and the southern kingdom, which is now known as Judah. And at that time, the prophet is expressing his heart in the manner of a conversation between him and God.
In chapter 1, we find out that Habakkuk has been praying for Judah (Israel) since they have been doing wrong things against God’s commands. He asks God why these bad things are happening to them when they have been following Him faithfully. In response, God tells Habakkuk that he has no reason to ask questions like these because he knows what will happen if he continues down this path (Israel would be destroyed). Then God tells Habakkuk that he must write down all these things so they can be remembered forever by future generations
There are many things we may learn from the life of the prophet, but today I want to focus on the concept of waiting and watching, and how we should continue to strengthen our Faith in this season.
When you are waiting and watching keep crying out to Him!
We forget the value of waiting and watching. We become impatient because we are not seeing the results we want. We get tired of waiting, but we forget that God is at work behind the scenes.
The prophet Habakkuk was in a Waiting and Watching season. He had been waiting for God to answer his prayers, but he did not see any response from God. He became impatient and began to doubt that God would answer him. He thought that maybe God had abandoned him, so he wrote this prayer:
"O Lord, how long shall I cry for help? How long will you look on? Rescue me from my persecutors! Deliver me from those who pursue me!" (Habakkuk 1:2)
This is a perfect example of what happens when we lose our vision due to impatience or frustration. In this verse, Habakkuk is asking God why it has taken so long for him to hear an answer from God when he was crying out to Him so often! We forget that our cries have the power to unlock the heavens! So often when we feel like God is not answering in our time, our faith weakens as if our trust was bargained for things that
God is still working for you. God is not confused in your confused moments; he is still thinking about and working on all possible things for you. One way we can keep our gaze fixed on Him is to keep crying out to Him, just like the prophet did.
When you are waiting and watching stand at your post!
'I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. '(Habakkuk 2:1)
Prophet uses the metaphor of a watch tower; how does a watchman guard his territory? He must remain faithful to his current assignment; if he shifts his attention, the enemy is able to act and conquer. Similarly, in the season of wait and watch, we must remain faithful to our current assignment and avoid distractions; we must be faithful to God by doing everything that God has entrusted to us in that season.
In this verse, Habakkuk was frustrated because God had not answered his prayers for deliverance from the Babylonians yet. It was not long before he started questioning God’s sovereignty in his life: “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
As Christians who have experienced victory many times over in our lives, we should learn how important it is that we do not take our blessings for granted or take them for granted! We must continue to pray
Trust in his time!
'This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. '(Habakkuk 2:3)
Waiting is sometimes the most spiritual thing to do; Waiting is an act of faith in God's perfect timing. Although it is difficult, we must learn to trust that God has a plan for us.
The Bible tells us that our lives are not our own and that we belong to God. He knows the plans He has for us and makes everything work together for good (Romans 8:28). When we wait on God, we are allowing Him to work in our lives. We are also trusting that He knows what is best for us and will bring His plan to fruition at the right time.
Waiting can be difficult, especially when things don't seem to be going as planned or when we feel like our prayers aren't being answered. It's important during these times to learn from Habakkuk 2:3: "This vision is for a future time." This verse reminds me of Daniel 10:12 where the angel told Daniel that his prayer had been heard in heaven and would be answered soon.
God is not only able to answer your prayer but also do it in His perfect timing.
Be Silent
'But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”' (Habakkuk 2:20)
This verse is a powerful message to the people of God, who are to be silent before Him. It shows that God is not just in his Temple, but that he is also in every place and time. This means that the Lord is present at all times and in all places, whether or not we can see Him with our eyes.
Let me encourage you!
God can handle your hard question, God can handle your confused hearts & God can handle all the crisis you just need to be still.
But the righteous will live by their faith
'“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. '(Habakkuk 2:4)
I love the fact it says the righteous will live by faith and not should live by faith that’s the identity marker of righteous and non-righteous people. We all have a choice to make, they can either choose to trust God or trust themselves. When we trust ourselves we end up making bad choices that lead us down a path of destruction, but when we trust in Him he leads us on a path of blessing. This is why it says that those who trust in themselves are crooked but those who trust in Him are straight.
The word ‘faith’ means ‘to trust’ or ‘reliance’, so when you put it together with righteousness it means reliance on God for everything from salvation to blessings. If we rely on our own strength instead of God then we will never be able to reach our full potential because our strength is limited whereas God has unlimited power at his disposal.
I pray and hope that this blog insprise you, God Bless You!