This is our last look at Habakkuk. What wonderful lesson have you learned from the Holy Spirit from this inspiring Old Testament book?
One answer should have be found in the verse below.
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
Habakkuk 3:19 (NLT)
Habakkuk was mystified and simply didn’t understand every answer. But he knew God. He trusted God and obeyed. Because of that he was able to not let the storm around him become more of a destraction to him than it should have been.
Instead there had to be another focus. God’s plan!
It’s the same for you and me in our noisy, dark world.
The lesson we as believers should learn from Habakkuk is to prioritize our love for God and His glory, to know His holiness and our concern for the Church.
We should want others to be able to see God’s Spirit, alive in our hearts.
Believers should also be concerned about the people who reject Christ.
Wholehearted faith in God grows when we don’t disregard our relationship with God. Habakkuk would not have trusted or obeyed God without that.
Take a look at Galatians 5 and Romans 8 for growing in the Spirit of God.
The utter holiness of God is so pervasive in the story of Habakkuk. I don’t know if you sensed this while reading this series of scriptures. That is missing from many churches today.
I think the awareness of who God is was just so helpful to Habakkuk when it came to putting his full faith and trust in a God he just could not see with his physical eyes. He learned to see God in action though. God was very trustworthy by virtue of all that He had done.
His holy and righteous nature helps us see Him doesn’t it? Here is a link to a one-minute devotional about that.
Do you know the old hymn below?
Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.1
If we really, truly believe that our God is perfect in power, in love and in purity then we can trust Him even when we don’t understand the mystery of His plan as it unfolds. We simply believe. We trust. Because we have seen His goodness displayed over and over again.
Here is the prayer of praise from our last look at Habakkuk’s prayer song to God.
This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk.
I have heard all about you, Lord.
I am filled with awe by your amazing works.
In this time of our deep need,
help us again as you did in years gone by.
And in your anger, remember your mercy.
I see God moving across the deserts from Edom,
the Holy One coming from Mount Paran.
His brilliant splendor fills the heavens,
and the earth is filled with his praise.
His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise.
Rays of light flash from his hands,
where his awesome power is hidden.
Pestilence marches before him;
plague follows close behind.
When he stops, the earth shakes.
When he looks, the nations tremble.
He shatters the everlasting mountains
and levels the eternal hills.
He is the Eternal One!
I see the people of Cushan in distress,
and the nation of Midian trembling in terror.
Was it in anger, Lord, that you struck the rivers
and parted the sea?
Were you displeased with them?
No, you were sending your chariots of salvation!
You brandished your bow
and your quiver of arrows.
You split open the earth with flowing rivers.
The mountains watched and trembled.
Onward swept the raging waters.
The mighty deep cried out,
lifting its hands in submission.
The sun and moon stood still in the sky
as your brilliant arrows flew
and your glittering spear flashed.
You marched across the land in anger
and trampled the nations in your fury.
You went out to rescue your chosen people,
to save your anointed ones.
You crushed the heads of the wicked
and stripped their bones from head to toe.
With his own weapons,
you destroyed the chief of those
who rushed out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be easy prey.
You trampled the sea with your horses,
and the mighty waters piled high.
I trembled inside when I heard this;
my lips quivered with fear.
My legs gave way beneath me,
and I shook in terror.
I will wait quietly for the coming day
when disaster will strike the people who invade us.
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.
Habakkuk 3 (NLT)
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News!
Isaiah 52:7
- Holy, Holy, Holy
Reginald Heber
Ca. 1783 ↩︎
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 