Wednesday: Remembering God’s Fame
Read Habakkuk 3.
Image © Janet Hyun from GoodSalt.com
What is Habakkuk doing there, and why is that so important, especially given the tough circumstances and difficult questions he is facing?
Habakkuk expresses his acceptance of God’s ways in a prayer set to music (Hab. 3:19). Being fully aware of God’s power, he asks the Lord to remember His mercy when the judgment begins. The prophet reverently recalls reports of God’s great acts in the past and is praying to Him to bring redemption now. He seems to stand between the times. With one eye he looks back to the Exodus event, while with the other he looks ahead to the day of the Lord. He longs for a display of God’s power in his present situation.
The hymn from Habakkuk 3 poetically describes God’s deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian bondage. What has happened at the time of the Exodus is a foreshadowing of the great judgment day. The godly should not be anxious about the day of the Lord, but they must wait, persevere, and rejoice in the hope that is theirs.
The hymn is also a celebration of the power, glory, and victorious nature of God. The Lord is described as sovereign over the whole earth. The revelation of His glory is comparable to the splendor of the sunrise (Hab. 3:4).
God judges the oppressive nations; yet, at the same time He brings about the redemption of His people in His “chariots of salvation” (Hab. 3:8). On the surface God’s power is not always visible, but the person of faith knows that God is there, no matter what.
Habakkuk calls us to look expectantly for the Lord’s salvation, when He will establish His righteousness on earth and fill the world with His glory. By singing praises to the Lord, the people of God encourage one another (Eph. 5:19-20, Col. 3:16) to meditate on God’s past acts and to hope for the glorious future. Habakkuk’s own example demonstrates how one can persevere by living with a vision.
Dwell upon God’s past leading in your life. How does this help you to learn to trust Him and His goodness, no matter what the immediate future brings? Why is it always so important to look to the ultimate and eternal future that awaits us?
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What’s important to realize is that God isn’t in the business of “pleasing us”—by working in our timing. We're sinners, born in sin. Our timings only bring heartache and more sin. God's timing is the best. He’s the Great I AM. It’s high time His creatures realize this aspect of our God and just trust. I’ve come to a realization that I’m most happy when I am 100% in God’s timing and will. Noah too had to trust when he stayed in the ark for seven days before the rain came.
God is good. And His love is unconditional—as being exemplified on Calvary.
Here is a bit of modern spin on Hab. 3:17-19
Though the car doesn’t start, and there’s no food in the refrigerator,
Though we get laid off at work and there’s no money in our bank accounts,
Yet we will rejoice in the Lord, we will be joyful in the Lord our Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is our strength.
I know I have experienced God's leading, His mercy and His provision all through my life. I am so thankful for the way He deals with us. He is so much better at dealing with us than are other people. Still, as He treats me, He can help me treat others more like He has treated me, true empowerment.
I so much agree that only our Creator God knows the future and what place to keep you in and the relationships that are best. We many times get tempted to go in a different direction. Obedience is often difficult and confusing because we can't/won't see why we are to do certain things and abstain from others.
Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait I say, on the Lord. I know when we are in our troubles, it is hard to wait, but with God on our minds, knowing that He did it in time past, He can do it again for us.
This lesson is speaking directly from God to me, especially Newton Shaw's comment. I am going thru horrific times now. Faith and trust in Christ is all that I have left. I have been so tempted to lose faith and become discouraged, compliments of the enemy. But prayer, faith and trust in Christ is not only getting me thru this, but most importantly, changing my heart and character. I must stay on my knees and be patient , knowing that all things work together for the good... In God's time.
Amen. Take heart, Carol. I'll be remembering you in my prayers.
God bless you Carol. I too am praying for you. You are an inspiration to all who are suffering. Your faith and trust in Christ may be all you have left but they are infinitely more valuable than anything this ephemeral earth could provide you.
I have been to a number of very poor countries and am amazed at how close to God people can be when they have nothing. It's almost as if things (prosperity) separate us from our Creator and when we have fewer of them, we can be closer to Him.
Jesus hears your tears like a prayer.
"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
God bless you Carol, by the way you have a wonderful last name !!! It's one of our Lord's wonderful names, Amen
Dear Carol, Please keep hanging on to Jesus! We are praying for you.
Jesus loves you dearly - just as He loved Job. He was delighting in the faithfulness of Job and trusted Him enough to allow Satan to test him. The important lesson is that even horrific trials do not mean that God has forgotten us. They may even mean that God has allowed Satan to test us to demonstrate our faithfulness to the universe, as He did with Job. What an honor! (I'm sure that Job didn't feel honored at the time, because He had no idea what was happening behind the scenes.) God will make all things right in their own time -- if not now, then in eternity.
In the meantime, you may have peace by trusting him even in your horrific times. May He bless you with abundant peace.
God added to my answer to the first part of the question (re: remembering the past) today in 2 Tim 1:5-7 (NLV)
5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Remembering what God has done for us stirs up the Holy Spirit within to get us moving on God's behalf. That His light might shine through us in a dark world.
Our actions on God's behalf/leading will demonstrate Hope (true Hope) to those around us. May God stir us up w/these lessons. May we get EXCITED for God and affect change around us. May we go forth w/spirits of determination and triumph. The victory is already WON by friends. Satan's head has been crushed under the heal of Christ. With God as our commander who can stand against us!
Remember and Move Forward!
Aloha to all:
I just want Carol to know that she is not alone in trials and pain. I also am going throu things that are not understood by me--(me), the Lord in the only one that knows. I trust Him with all my strength, though it is hard when you have nothing to stand on but the word of GOD. Wow, hold on Carol. We love you.
Thank you to Sieg and Inge for your prayers for Carol and I ask you to pray for me for the burden in horrific! I know our God will see us through.
Bless you all in Christ Jesus.
[Moderator's Note: Please use full names when commenting. Thank you.]
I thought I was the only one going through hard times, let's remember that the devil
hates Christ who is in us. The battle is between good and evil, Christ and the devil. Lets endure, God is with us in times like these.
Praise God,through our pain and suffering, it prepares us to see God face to face and live!
To see God face to face we don't have to judge, we have to praise him.