Watching and Waiting
Opening Prayer
Thank You, Lord, that You see the end from the beginning. Thank You that, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Read Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
[12] LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, LORD, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. [13] Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? [14] You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler. [15] The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. [16] Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. [17] Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy? [1] I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
Why is Habakkuk still upset with God?It would have been easy for Habakkuk to give up in despair. But he didn’t. He came right back at God, still questioning. Habakkuk knew what God was really like. And he had the courage to remind God of his own characteristics: his holiness, purity, immortality and steadfastness (12,13). How could a God like this contemplate abandoning his people to the Dark Side? Habakkuk didn’t believe that he had. He obeyed God’s command to watch and see what would happen (1:5), deliberately taking up his position and mentally preparing himself to wait for as long as it took. The thing about watching is that it shows that you still have hope. Habakkuk wasn’t prepared to stop hoping and praying. He wasn’t prepared to let the world go its merry way to destruction. He was willing to wait and watch until the God he loved and trusted chose to intervene. I’ve often heard it said that God has a special reward for those who are prepared to watch and wait until the end, waiting past the point when others give up. Habakkuk was a good example of this sort of persistence. He’s an example for you and me.
Apply
Have you been waiting for something for a long time? If so, bring it to God in prayer again now.
Closing prayer
Good God, I don’t always understand Your timing so please give me faith and patience to wait when I need it.
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