Some thoughts on Habakkuk

 

If I could only choose one Scripture to summarize my study on the minor prophet Habakkuk, it would be Proverbs 3:5-6. This also happens to be my life verse that I claimed when I first accepted Christ into my heart at the age of 15 in 1975 at church camp. 

I made a 2021 goal for my spiritual development and it was to read 4 minor prophets and study them. I've read through the entire Bible before, chronologically, and this year decided to concentrate on some of the prophets.  So far I have completed Hosea and now Habakkuk.

This is a  short book in the Old Testament. Habakkuk's names means " to wrestle".  He certainly wrestled with questions before God!  He was a prophet and a musician and he lived during the times when God's people were facing their enemy, the Babylonians. The songs that he wrote encouraged God's people....King Josiah had encouraged the people to worship God and obey His Word but then Josiah's son took over and he was very wicked and the people fell into wicked ways. 

Chapter 1 is a picture of how we question God when evil lurks. It's also an example of grace and love.  We see through Habakkuk that it's ok to question God as long as know that God is the One who has the authority over everything that has happened and everything that will happen! The author of the study I completed suggested that instead of asking God "why do You allow evil?" a better question for us to ask would be "What are You, God, going to do through this evil?" In today's culture, here in the United States, there are blurred lines between good and evil. 

The verse that stood out to me in this first chapter is this one:

and this quote from the study:

"In every bad situation,  there is a positive that will come from it even when we do not see it." 

Chapter 2 shows us about the importance of waiting on God. When we are experiencing something difficult (think:  pandemic!) we don't always know where God is going with what we're experiencing, do we?  This requires us to accept that God knows exactly what He's doing.....our job is to release our own will and trust HIS will and plans.  This requires patience.  While we're waiting on God to act, let's not leave God!  We can look back on what God has done for us in the past while looking forward to the future and what He will do/reveal.

Chapter 3 is all about trust.  God is looking for our trust in situations that stretch us.  This makes us rely more on God.  (or it should, right??!) He reaffirms His love for us and although it might look like we are waiting for God alone, He is always there!  He never forsakes us!!

The word "selah" appears after verse 3.  Selah means "to hang"...to linger or pause.  It often denotes a reflective moment. Let's linger in the knowledge of God's love for us...and in the remembering of what God has done.  Habakkuk is praying to God for much of Chapter 3. 

The prayer shows that when we surrender and have faith we will trust. 

I liked this quote:  "having faith in God is not for believing in Him but rather, for knowing he will sustain you and never forsake you." 

Drawing near to God and seeking Him in His Word will lead to  internal peace and comfort in trying times. 

This was the verse that jumped out at me in Chapter 3: 

All of humankind, since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, have been in conflict----nations rise up against nations....we have wars.....people talk about peace but there is no peace outside of a relationship with Christ. 

God made a promise to Habakkuk and we can claim it as our own! He keeps His promises.

Habakkuk  went from a time of many questions to God, to fully trusting God....even when he didn't understand the ways of God.