How Long: Habakkuk Chp 3
Hello Friends! Happy Easter Monday! I hope over this past weekend you were able to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus, and maybe you joined us on our Instagram lives as we talked about the emotional dimension of Easter. I have to say ending our miniseries on Habakkuk during Easter weekend could not have been more perfect.
Today we are finishing up the book of Habakkuk with Chapter 3. It is important to notice in chapter 3 the psalm-like prayer Habakkuk is speaking during this time. As reflected similarly to prayers by Moses, Deborah, and in the book of Judges. From the beginning in verse 2, we are again greeted with the imagery of God’s character and works, but we start to get to see the confidence that Habakkuk finds in the Lord. At the end of verse 2, we see the line “in wrath remember mercy”. Mercy in Hebrew means “womb” which represents the description of the depth of God’s love. It is in the following verses where Habakkuk is finally obeying what God told him to do in Habakkuk 1:5. God tells him to look, see and wonder.
The book caused Habakkuk to humbly pray but come BOLDLY in prayer.
To boldly come in prayer, we can have faith that God’s plans will endure no matter what may come (v.6). We have the same chance as Habakkuk to come boldly and freely to the throne. We get to come to the throne this way because of what Jesus did on the cross.
As Habakkuk comes to the Lord in bold prayer he presents 3 requests.
Revive - for God to continue to be faithful
Reveal - to make the path clear
Remember - to remember the Lord’s mercy and His comfort.
Which one of these do you feel you need to pray for today?
God wants us to come to him with our struggles, questions, confusion, and be satisfied through him.
In verses 8 - 16, we shift gears to Habakkuk speaking to the Lord in the second person. Each line and representation focuses on God bringing salvation through different means and remembering God’s faithfulness. Habakkuk’s prayers and praise are rooted in the Word of God. It is because of this that it allows for Habakkuk to preach the gospel to himself and reminding himself of who God is and how He works.
Verse 16: “Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.”
Realizing the day of judgment would one day come, Habakkuk, in the wake of fear and joy CHOOSES to praise in the waiting. Habakkuk who once was asking “how long” was now waiting and rejoicing in the waiting, in the Lord who is His strength.
Which attitude of Habakkuk are you when it comes to waiting? Are you crying in the agony of “how long” or in the waiting rejoicing in the faithfulness of God?
Habakkuk felt the weight of God’s wrath that would one day come, but it was nothing close to the heaviness Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night he was betrayed. Crying out to God to take the cup, but realizing that this was God’s will, the fulfilled promise that would allow for you and me to BOLDLY AND FREELY GO TO THE THRONE.
Jesus was the Messiah, which means “Anointed One”. Now in Jewish culture to be anointed would mean to have oil sprinkled over you. Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is believed to be an olive garden. And how does one get Olive Oil? From crushing the olives. In those days olives had to be crushed 3 times, under heavy weight, to produce olive oil. The Beauty is that Jesus, the anointed one, was crushed under the heavy weight of sin and darkness so that God’s children would never have to. This friend, is the hope of the gospel, that we get to see in Habakkuk. No matter what life brings we can rest in the assurance that we are not alone. A cross that once symbolized death and darkness now symbolizes hope, life, and rebirth.
At the end of Habakkuk, we see a full circle of emotion. Habakkuk was in despair at the beginning, but now we see his utter dependence on the Lord. Knowing that sometimes, things will have to get worse before they get better. Look at what we celebrated this weekend, the worst day in history, but led in the best day in human history, the resurrection of Jesus. Instead of being angry at the situation, Habakkuk learned to walk by faith and not by sight and calls us to do the same.
Habakkuk calls for us to stop saying “what if” and start saying “Even if”. Even if my strength is lost I'll praise You. Even if I have no song I'll praise You. Even if it's hard to find the words. Louder, then I'll sing Your praise, I will only sing Your praise.
Habakkuk realizes that even if the worst things were to happen he would have the Lord. Because of the death on the cross, we can rest in the promise that God will always be with us, even in our darkest moments. We can look to Jesus in our suffering and in our pain; when we are lost and stumbling; we can remember the goodness of God. He has already overcome our greatest enemy of all time, at that is worth celebrating, and putting our faith and trust in the One who has conquered death itself.
““So Habakkuk’s response to the thought of coming devastation was confidence and worship. He declares that when things get bad, he will rejoice in the Lord. When things seem like they can’t get any worse, He will find joy in His God. This is the reminder that we need when life is hard. When there is no joy found in my situation there is joy to be found in my God” ”
Take some time today to reflect on the book of Habakkuk. How do you react to bad situations, or where do you turn in your darkest times? Also, reflect on this message and the message of Easter! It’s a beautiful comparison that creates such a spark of hope for many! Finally, listen to the song below and write down your thoughts. Listen to it from the perspective of Habakkuk or yourself.
