Bible Reading Blog
“I Will Quietly Wait”
Categories: Congregational Bible ReadingBIBLE READING: Habakkuk 3
“I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.” (Habakkuk 3.16)
We all get frustrated with the events we experience: injustice in government, lukewarmness in the church, the wicked prospering. Asking God “How long?” and to act for the sake of righteousness and justice, especially among his people, is a very right thing to pray for. We ought to have a deep-seated trust that God is good and will make things right.
But, as with Habakkuk, we need to be warned what happens next. We might ask for God to bring justice or revival or make things right; but that might mean we have to suffer too. How God accomplishes his purposes often refines everyone involved.
This can be uncomfortable and even unsettling for us; but we should take comfort that God is firmly in control of the future, even planning it long before it happens. The Chaldeans didn’t just happen randomly in history—God raised them up (Habakkuk 1.6). He knew this humbling would cause many to turn their attention towards him. He knew how this terrible season for Judah would lead to revival among those who were truly his. In the same way, God knows the things going on with our government and in our world. He sees the challenges we face in our churches. He knows, personally, what each of us is going through in our hearts and minds. But we must recognize that He has seen every moment that we exist in because he created it (Psalm 139.16). When the bible tells us for everything there is a season, it is because God knows exactly what we need.
He is firmly in control of the future, even telling us what to expect. There will be sorrow, death and war (Ecclesiastes 3.1-8). There will be suffering for our faith (2 Timothy 3.12). We experience the discipline of the Lord (Hebrews 12.5-11). We should expect that God is molding and refining us but is always working towards an end that is best for us (Romans 8.28). When we can get on board with that reality then we will understand Habakkuk’s resolution:
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields 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)
Habakkuk knew things were not going to get better, but he committed to quietly wait for what came next. Why? Things always go as God says. Circumstances will change, but God will not. His promises are sure. His nature is consistent. What he has done in the past points to what he will do in the future, and we can order our lives around him with utter confidence. And with that comes peace.
