Tonight, the night before Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the new heart I received from the Lord more than 15 years ago and for His word which is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 40 is my salvation song, particularly the following beginning verses:
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
I am remembering now what it felt like to be brought up out of the pit...from the miry clay and the shifting sand.... so to speak...to the Rock. Now when this happened nothing in my circumstances changed. What changed was me. My heart now trusted in the God of the Universe...I surrendered control of my life to Him and through no power of mine, was able to rejoice despite the bleakness of my circumstances at that moment. Christ now lived in me. I was no longer alone. I now lived, moved and had my being in Him. He was the difference.
The same is true for me today and when my circumstances look bleak, I need to remember who my God is. I still live, move and have my being in Him. Christ lives in me and He is my hope! Sometimes our circumstances can make us feel, even as believers, like we are no longer standing firmly on the Rock that is Christ. The ground begins to feel soft under our feet. What do we do when our circumstances shake us and throw us off balance?
There are many examples in Scripture, but let's look at the first chapter of Habakkuk. Here is how Habakkuk begins.
1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Question
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry,And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.
3 Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Habakkuk thinks the Lord is indifferent to Judah's sin and can't understand why He does not act. The prophet sees plundering, violence, strife and contention all around him and justice not going forth. He wants the Lord to save and chasten and then perhaps, to bring revival to Judah. Here is how God answers...
The LORD’s Reply
5 “ Look among the nations and watch—Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
9 “ They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
Ascribing this power to his god.”
Uh oh...if I read that right, this is not what Habakkuk had been asking for. The Chaldeans were evil...The prophet does not understand why God is going to judge Judah by using a nation whose sins were greater than theirs. He does not understand what God is doing. We can tell the prophet is not quite standing on the rock anymore...He is looking around at his circumstances and becoming discouraged and bewildered. The ground beneath him is getting soft. He is beginning to doubt. Look at the last verses of the chapter, though.
The Prophet’s Second Question
12 Are You not from everlasting,O LORD my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for correction.
13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their share is sumptuous
And their food plentiful.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net,
And continue to slay nations without pity?
Have you figured out what just happened? Habakkuk's circumstances and situation have not changed. His perspective, focus and his meditation, however, have. Like us, many times in our lives, he doesn't understand what God is doing. So what does Habakkuk do...he remembers what he does understand about God. This is what we are to do too.
First, he remembers that God is from everlasting. He is eternal. He is the great I AM...the self-existent One. You, Lord, are outside of time. You, Lord are unaffected by what happens in this world. You, Lord were here before time began...you were here when history began and you will be here after history ends. Aaaaaah....do you see what is happening girls? Habakkuk is meditating on who God is and as He does this, he begins to stand fast again. The ground is not shaky anymore. It is becoming firmer under his feet. I love it. What does he say next?
God is holy. This is a very good thing to remember when your world is spinning around you. God does not make mistakes. He does all things well and He does them for His glory and our good. God always does what is right. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. James 1:17 tells us that " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
Next, the prophet remembers that God is sovereign and in control. "O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction." You are mighty and faithful Lord. You are at work...we will not die.
Habakkuk's feet are firmly planted once again. How did it happen? He got his eyes off his circumstances and onto his God. He can now praise the Lord despite his circumstances...they no longer matter. I will end with what the prophet says at the end of the book in Chapter 3 beginning in verse 17.
Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.
Girls...this is the only way to handle the problems and curve balls the world will throw you. Remember what you know is true about Him who lives to make intercession for you and rejoice!
Love
Mom who is feeling like Habakkuk!
