Habakkuk

My Anguish

I am angered by those who are against me. Why do you put these people in my life? To be really honest, I am ready to be done with learning lessons right now. Everyone always tells me that you bring us through all of this crap to teach us, so already I have these thoughts ingrained in my own. It may be true that you are, but I want to rest. I want to be in a place where peace is practiced. You said that creation is groaning to be set free, but how long does creation have to groan? How long will the wicked succeed? I mean, are you asleep right now or just watching from a distance? Remove the transgressions against your people. You promise to be the provider and sustainer so right now I am asking you to provide rest in my job. I feel the brokenness of creation within the system of 40 hours a week in a job that is sucking the life out of me. Not to forget the global problems of oppressors in sweatshops, pimps in the slums of Thailand, and governments who rape and pillage the people they are sworn to protect. Not even the police or military care about the people but use them for their own power. Is there such a thing as justice? Restore your creation quickly, Sovereign Lord. I don't want to be a part of a broken world any longer. Open my eyes so that I can see your face; open my ears so that I can hear your voice. The only way I will make it is by you so right now I need your hand to sustain and comfort me. I will wait for you to answer me in fear and trembling.

God's Response

2-3And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in a blog so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time.

 4"Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive. 5-6"Note well: Money deceives. The arrogant rich don't last. They are more hungry for wealth than the grave is for cadavers. Like death, they always want more, but the 'more' they get is dead bodies. They are cemeteries filled with dead nations, graveyards filled with corpses. Don't give people like this a second thought. Soon the whole world will be taunting them saying: 6-8"'Who do they think they are— getting rich by stealing and extortion? How long do they think they can get away with this?' Indeed, how long before their victims wake up, stand up and make them the victim? They've plundered nation after nation. Now they'll get a taste of their own medicine. All the survivors are out to plunder them, a payback for all their murders and massacres. 9-11"Who do they think they are—recklessly grabbing and looting Living it up, acting like king of the mountain, acting above it all, above trials and troubles? They've engineered the ruin of their own house. In ruining others they've ruined themselves. They've undermined their foundations, rotted out their own soul. The bricks of their house will speak up and accuse them. The woodwork will step forward with evidence. 12-14"Who do they think they are—building a town by murder, a city with crime. Don't they know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes, Makes sure the harder that they work at that kind of thing, the less they are? Meanwhile rest in this Noah, the earth fills up with awareness of God's glory as the waters cover the sea. 15-17"Who do they think they are inviting their neighbors to their drunken parties, Giving them too much to drink, roping them into your sexual orgies? They thought they were having the time of their life. Wrong! It's a time of disgrace. All the time they were drinking, they were drinking from the cup of God's wrath. They'll wake up holding their throbbing head, hung over—hung over from Lebanon violence, Hung over from animal massacres, hung over from murder and mayhem, From multiple violations of place and people. 18-19"What's the use of a carved god so skillfully carved by its sculptor? What good is a fancy cast god when all it tells is lies? What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker who makes gods that can't even talk? Who do they think they are—saying to a stick of wood, 'Wake up,' Or to a dumb stone, 'Get up'? Can they teach you anything about anything? There's nothing to them but surface. There's nothing on the inside. 20"But oh! God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!"

I Respond

Oh Lord how you love us your children. How great and mighty you are! When you show your mercy upon me, I know that you are there. I am unworthy to be called a child of yours and unworthy to be answered. I have allowed myself to be concerned with my afflictions and forgotten that you were there. My faith is so weak to believe that you didn't care about my job. I assumed that you had forgotten about me your child or that you didn't care. I am in awe of you. I wept when you responded to me. I fall to the earth, trembling and fearful in your presence, but you lifted me up and told me to focus on you. Thank you for restoring me to your side. I trust and rest in you. You are Holy and righteous and your ways are better than my own.