The Prophet Habakkuk was used by God to minister to the nation of Judah at a time when it was stubbornly refusing to change its sinful ways. This led the prophet to seek God for answers for the wickedness around him. [chapter 1] All of us like him are looking for answers for all the atrocities happening in our world today.  But what will the godly do during those difficult times? The prophet learnt two valuable lessons that need to be practised even in our times.

The First lesson we learn as believers from the prophet is the importance of waiting on the Lord to hear from Him.

When the prophet was overwhelmed by the sin of his own people and God’s decision to punish them in a most unconventional manner, he realised that he needed answers that only God could provide. So vs 1 tells us three things he did:

1.Climb up to the watchtower – Whenever as a believer we face difficult situations, God is calling us away into our prayer closet where we are shut off from the world and shut in with Him. 
  
2. Stand at the guard post – This means we, as believers need to be on our knees in prayer till the battle is won, with lifted hands as Moses did in Exodus 17:11 and constantly as Paul exhorts us in 1 Thess 5:17   

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3. Wait to see what the Lord says -  Here the prophet is encouraging us to have the same attitude the psalmist displayed in Ps 123:2: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us.” We need to wait expectantly, understanding His Sovereignty and His Benevolence.  

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Right across the Bible God meets people personally in solitude, be it Abraham or John in Patmos. God had a very specific word to those who decided to set themselves up for this meeting and who had their eyes and ears tuned to hear from Him. God speaks in the same manner even today. But how many of us are willing to give Him such time to speak to us?

 

The second lesson the Prophet learnt from God is to live by faith until He returns. [Hab 2:4]

 

The answer from the Lord was a prophetic one that became the foundation for every Christian. 

In the fullness of time when Christ was revealed, God nullified the old convent of sacrifice and instituted a new covenant that is received through faith in the completed work of Christ on the cross. 

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When we put our faith in Christ God does 3 very important works in our lives. 

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1. We receive our righteousness from God through faith-  When we put our faith in Christ we are forgiven our sins and given the power to live a holy life in right relationship with Him. (Romans 1:16&17)

2. We receive the Promise of the Spirit through faith – Now being justified through faith in Christ and redeemed from the curse of the law, we are privileged to receive the promise of The Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3: 10-14)

3. He gives us faith to live right until He returns- God gives us the strength to live daily in Him not looking at the temporary benefits but looking at the eternal reward. (Heb 10: 26-28)

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Even as we await the return of Christ may we continue to live with this understanding that our rest and our salvation is found only in Him and in no one else!

 Quote for the day: “Faith looks not at what happens

to him but at Him Whom he believes.” ~Watchman Nee
 

 

Listen - 'Living By Faith'