6-9-2006

2 Samuel 22:7
In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.

Habakkuk 3:17,18
Though the fig tree does not bud and ther eare no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fials and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.


Hello everyone,

How is everyone? I hope all of you are doing well and are being strengthened by our Lord daily. As most of you may know, I've been going through the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament, and a few days ago I finished Habakkuk. Basically, the gist of this book is that Habakkuk asks the Lord WHY so many terrible things are going on and He seems to be doing nothing. The Lord answers, and in the end Habakkuk trusts that the Creator of all things knows what He's doing. That's a VERY brief explanation.
I think what strikes me the most is this prophet's opening words to God: "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?" (Hab 1:2,3) How many of us have cried out in this way, or at least wanted to, because of all the things that go on in our lives and in the world? How many of us go through rough spots and question, "How long is this going to last??"
U2 asks the question in Sunday Bloody Sunday, and also in 40 (from Psalm 40). Many other musical artists do the same in different ways.
In looking through Psalms, an observer can quickly pick up on the fact that the psalmists were also perplexed and asked, "How long?"
We've all asked the same question somewhere in the depths of our souls. And, as demonstrated by all of these figures in the Bible, we certainly are free to ask God that question! I think that we as believers today have this idea that to ask 'why' or 'how long' is somehow a crack in our faith... so we're afraid to ask. We're afraid to be upset and we're afraid to express that to a God that already knows we're upset. But you know what, when we do cry out to Him, He does hear us.

The Lord Almighty is a God who hears us. If you don't catch what I'm saying, I'll say it again: God is a God who HEARS us. Why? Because He is our Father, and He cares for and loves each of us in such a way that you and I could never imagine.. Your muffled cries and anguishes about the state of things - either worldly or in your personal life - is not outside of God's earshot and I would wager to say that He wants us to bring our cries to Him. Although the answer to 'how long?' may never be revealed to us, we can rely on the fact that there will come a time when God will make all things right when Christ comes back. Even now in our present age, we can lean on Him and know that He will take care of everything in His timing. The world can't run on our timetable, as much as we'd like it to, and you and I need to focus on being faithful followers to mend where we are needed and where we can be used for God's glory. Even in the midst of our troubles and distress, we are to praise the Lord for all that He is doing. Hard to do? You betchya... but it's worth it.

I pray that each of us would not be hesitant in presenting our distress to the Lord, and be willing to be calmed by His Spirit. I pray that we wouild be patient in knowing that God hears our prayers, no matter how little or how small... and also that we would be taught to trust God. I pray that we He would help us to wait patiently for the Lord to do what He needs to do. Also, I ask that the Holy Spirit would work in each of us daily, refining us to be more and more like Christ as He teaches us to shed the layers of lies we have believed for so long.

In love and in Him,
your sister,
Yvonne

P.S. I apologize if some things do not make sense... it's nearly 2:00 in the morning and I wanted to finish this up before going to bed. Also, I may be coming back to this later to make some adjustments.