The Just Shall Live By Faith
Frustrated with God?
Society is bitterly divided with an us-vs-them mentality. Christianity is ridiculed. Corrupt government officials are exposed, but nothing is done about it. The land is filled with lawlessness.
Does this refer to the present day or the time of the prophet, Habakkuk?
The answer is both!
Habakkuk was fed up with the malice and corruption of his people and frustrated that it seemed that the Lord was doing nothing about it. He even says, “how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear”? Again, it may sound familiar.
But the Lord, in His divine wisdom, reminds Habakkuk that He is in control – always, forever and in every situation we can imagine. He has promised to smite all our enemies, up to and including death and the grave. No matter how dire circumstances appear, the Lord is our strength and our refuge. Nothing can separate us from His love.
Here is how Habakkuk (3:17-19a) describes his reaction to these promises:
17Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls– 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And he will make me walk on my high hills.
We need to remember to trust. It’s hard for us humans but we know that He is governing for our good. We are reminded, throughout Scripture, that the just shall live by faith. And so, that is what we do. We believe, trust and have faith in His promises.
Thanks be to God for unbroken promises!
Here is today’s sermon text from Habakkuk:
1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.Chapter 2
1I will take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
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