Habakkuk's farewell

God has blessed my brief stay in Habakkuk. Again, it isn't the first time I read it, but it has definitely been humbling and uplifting at the same time. On my rankings of books in the Bible (not that I actually rank them for they are all beyond tangible value), Habakkuk has made a significant jump towards one of my favorites, especially in the Old Testament. I know the words of the book are the most important and powerful, but where God has me now also plays a significant role in my appreciation for this book.

For once in my life I was able to personally identify with one of God's prophets. All my knowledge up to this point had these men on a different spiritual playing field than myself (at least in my mind). They were holier than me, or else God wouldn't have chosen them, right? Wrong! These men, Habakkuk in particular, were just like me. They loved God, but struggled in the midst of the everyday trials and tribulations. What God was showing them was hard to swallow, and, sometimes, they took issue with it. They sinned and God leveled them, but graciously pulled them back up. They grew weary, but God's strength carried them through. Habakkuk was simply where God opened my eyes.

I must confess my last posts were biblically out of order. God promised to show himself first, and then called for silence before Him. Whatever the order, my eyes and heart needed to hear those two things. Unlike Habakkuk, God chose to silence me first before telling me that He is at work. Like Habakkuk, my complaints had reached his ears and past His diving patience. Since being humbled by God's holiness and sovereignty, He has been showing me glimpses of His hand. My complaints are slowly turning to prayers of thanksgiving and surrender like those of Habakkuk towards the end of his book. Eventually, God will replace them altogether with declarations of complete trust in His will. My prayers and songs will echo Habakkuk's and provide me with the hope I need to face the road ahead.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the field yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. ~Habakkuk 3:17-19