“Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. Habakkuk 1:5
The book of Habakkuk is a unique prophetic book, in that it consists primarily of a conversation between God and Habakkuk and we get to be a proverbial fly on the wall during their conversation ; ). In this conversation Habakkuk asks (and I am paraphrasing here) What is God Waiting For? He doesn’t realize the magnitude of God’s patience, nor do we.
Habakkuk starts out his conversation complaining that God isn’t listening and he asks why God isn’t acting (“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” Habakkuk 1:1-4).
When we read Habakkuk’s complaints, does it sound like a familiar time? It should, because it is as if this had been written for today. God’s word is incredible that way. He wrote things that were perfect for the time that they were written, yet it transcends time and is completely perfect, flawless, applicable and inerrant in the way that it applies to every age, including this one.
God responds to Habakkuk, but not with what he wants to hear. Instead, God says that He will raise up a treacherous nation (Babylon) to use to mete out judgement on the nation Judah, because they too have become a wicked nation. And then in Chapter 2 God tells Habakkuk to write down His revelation so that a messenger can run with it. He says “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”. God explains that He will use one wicked nation to punish another but that, in time, all nations will be Judged by Him. In the end, Habakkuk promises to wait for the Lord to fulfill His promises and understands that God is a perfect judge and just in His judgments. He understands that true judgement comes from God, and God alone.
We, as Christians, could all be praying Habakkuk’s prayer. As Americans we could be praying this prayer of frustration regarding our Nation, but we could also be praying it regarding the World as a whole.
We must remember that God is “long suffering” (The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering (patience) to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9). When we look at the wickedness around us and wonder What Is He Waiting For and why is He has not taking action, we need only look to John 3:16 in which it tells us that God so loved the world, the whole world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will instead have everlasting life. Because God is, was and will be, He already knows every single person who will ever accept Him and He is just waiting for that last person to say “I repent and trust you Jesus, I long to give my life to you and call you my Lord and Savior”.
We, like Habakkuk, must trust God. We must know that He is just in His judgement, that His timing is perfect and we must wait. While we are waiting, we must pray.
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. In Matthew 24:14 God promises “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 He tells us, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage on another with these words.
I pray that today we would realize that what we, as Christians, are waiting for is the return of our Glorious King, Jesus. Because, when that trumpet sounds and He returns, it means that every person who would ever accept Him as their Lord and Savior, has done so and that our work here is done.
And while we are waiting, we must pray. Pray for the healing of our land, pray that the gospel would be proclaimed in all the world. We must pray that He, through the Holy Spirit, would reveal to you, your part in advancing the gospel to all the world. You are a missionary right in your own home. Share your Savior with anyone you know that doesn’t know Him as Lord of their lives. Their eternal life depends on it.
Finally pray for revival. Pray that the Church of Christ would unite and be a beacon to the lost and that they would be drawn to Him like moths to a flame. And praise Him, because those loved ones that we have that do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior are relying on God’s patience to give them time to submit. Let’s pray that they do.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that (right now) you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/)and pray the prayer that is outlined there. Once you have done that, please reach out to me at admin@adminForgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know so that I can be praying for you. And that I might help you grow in your knowledge of and relationship with our Precious Savior Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya,
