As I was writing the devotions on Faith, God inspired me today to write on how a righteous person should live. The book of Habakkuk is one of my favorite books in the Bible. I like this book because I am a questioner just like Habakkuk but many times I do not wait for answers like the way the Prophet waits on the Lord for all his answers. He was a man who sought answers for the difficult questions that were on his mind. He was troubled by what he observed. He saw a dying world and it broke his heart. He asked God questions like: Why is there evil in the world? Why do the wicked seem to be winning? Habakkuk boldly took all his complaints and queries to God. What do we do when we are bombarded by the same questions? We get depressed, we wallow in self pity, self-destructive attitudes, shutting up ourselves from the outside world or probably call a friend for answers just like the way they do in "Who wants to be a millionaire"
Friends, As you read this question and answer session between Habakkuk and the Great I AM, you will learn how to depend on God for answers. Habakkuk 2:1 I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post, There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. What an awesome way to wait on the Lord.
After he waited on the Lord, in Habakkuk 2:2 the Lord replies Habakkuk. The Lord again tells Habakkuk in Vs.3 to wait patiently to see what the Lord said will definitely come to fruition.
During our faith series we have seen through so many examples how people have been healed. What brought healing to them? It was only faith. My definition of FAITH was Fantastic Adventure In Trusting Him or For All I Trust Him. Are we having that faith? See what the Lord says to Habakkuk in 2:4
The Just shall live by faith. Habakkuk questioned God : Why do the wicked seem to be winning? God replies him by saying that the wicked trust in themselves and their lives are crooked. But the just shall live by faith.
What category do you belong to today? Are you trusting in yourselves or are you trusting in God for all that you need?
Habakkuk trusted in the Lord for all his questions. The prophet concludes this book with a prayer of triumph or victory. Habakkuk understood God's power, His mercy and his eternal love as he sings his prayer in Chapter 3.
This is my favorite word from Habakkuk 3:17 : Even though, Even though, Even though... Friends, even though there is no happiness in your life, in your marriage, in your jobs or your relationships, even though there is no money in your bank accounts, even though there is no food on your table,even though your attempts to find the suitable husband or wife for you has failed, Let us see what Habakkuk says- Even though there are no blossoms on fig trees, no grapes on the vines, even though the olive crop fails, flocks die in the fields, cattle barns are empty,
YET.. this is the nail on the coffin. Friends this words sums it all. Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in the God of my Salvation. Now, that my friends is FAITH. You cannot just have faith and do things your way. You need to wait on the Lord. Without faith it is impossible to please God and without waiting patiently your faith can never be tested. Faith is patient endurance in the Lord.
You can never rejoice in this awesome God described in Chapter 3 until you make Him your Lord just like the way Habakkuk did. He says I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. No one can save you from what you are going through except the Lord God Almighty.
Trust in Him. The only way a righteous person can live is by faith not by anything else.
When you trust in this great God who is the Lord of your life He gives you strength, he makes you surefooted as the deer, and He will enable you to walk upon the heights.
In conclusion Galatians 3:11 clearly says that the only way a righteous person has life is through faith. No one can become right with God by keeping the law. Only Jesus Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by law. (Duet 21:22) Everyone who committed a crime worthy of death is executed by being hung on a tree. What crime do you think that this loving, caring, healing and awesome Jesus committed that He was hung on a tree? Nothing, my friends nothing. He became sin for you and me. He loved us even though we committed crimes worthy of death. We are the ones who should have been executed by being hung on that tree but He took that shame for you and me. He shed every drop of his redemptive blood for you and I.
If you still haven't made this awesome Jesus the Lord of your life, just kneel down right where you are and give your heart to the Lord. If you don't do it now, a day will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that He is the Lord.
Give yourself to the Lord in absolute surrender because the Just shall live just by faith.
Quit trying to be right with God by your own efforts. No matter how much you try you can never become right with God. Just yield to him. STOP and YIELD because only through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ we can be made right with God.
His speech created the world, His breath created us but He had to shed every drop of His redemptive, cleansing blood to give us salvation and eternal life.
Let us therefore intimately introspect our lives today: Are you living by faith or are you living and trusting in your own accomplishments, your own pride, ego and your achievements? Are you waiting on the Lord at your watch tower and standing at your guard posts for answers or are you going crazy trying to get answers for yourselves?
Friends, I waited on the Lord for 7 years for him to fulfill His promises in my life. He fulfilled all that he promised me : Double honor instead of shame. If you are running the race with your own strength and walking this life with your own might, then you will get tired and weary but if you wait on the Lord, then you will have strength and you will mount up with wings like Eagles.
My life is a living witness of the goodness of my awesome Jesus and his redemptive plan for my life.
How about you?
