The Bible is God’s inerrant, relevant word. By “relevant” I mean that God’s teaching is more modern and important today than any Twitter news story. For instance, go back with me to the small prophetic book of Habakkuk, which was written in the seventh century B.C. What could this ancient prophet possibly have known about the years 2022-23?
Judah was under the reign of the evil King Jehoiakim and looked much like our beloved country today. Their governmental leaders appeared to be stumbling, staggering, and stalling. . . and taking Judah with them. Habakkuk prayed to God to bring about change, but God seemed eerily silent. But was God silent? We must become less myopic and expand our worldview. Habakkuk says it!
“O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ and You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises” (Hab. 1:2-3). In verse 4, Habakkuk gave four examples of this continuous contention. Number one, the law is powerless. Sound familiar? Number two, there is no apparent justice. Does this ring true? And number three, the wicked surround the righteous. These words definitely define our day. And finally, number four. When justice does come, it is crooked. Habakkuk called it “perverse.”
It appears that this ancient prophet had been reading our Twitter feeds. Incredible! But what did God tell Habakkuk to do about it? God said to his prophet to look among the nations and watch. This is exactly what we are doing. We watch Russia; we watch Ukraine; we watch China; we watch Europe; we watch Israel – especially Israel, and on and on it goes. God told Habakkuk that He was going to do an astounding work in his day that he would not believe. God was raising up the Chaldeans (Babylonians), a bitter and hasty nation, who would march throughout the earth to possess dwelling places that were not theirs. They were terrible and dreadful. God was going to bring the Babylonians into Judah to make a worldview adjustment (Hab. 1:5-7). Chuck Swindoll, responding on Habakkuk’s behalf, said, “You’re right, God! I don’t believe it.”
Habakkuk said, “I will stand my watch and set myself on a rampart and watch and see what God will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected” (Hab. 2:1). These are very similar to Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians. “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Cor. 16:13). Stand fast in the faith? Why stand in the faith? Because “the just shall live by faith.” Ever wonder where these words originated? They came from right here at ground zero in Habakkuk. “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).
You see, dear grace champion, it may appear that God is silent, but God is never silent. He is sovereign! Because God is the mover and shaker of this entire universe, His will will be done and done in His way. God is not only aware of our situation, He controls it! He controls it all! This is the truth that we are to take by faith.