Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Friday, May 3, 2013

Yet I Will Rejoice!


Friday, May 03, 2013, 8:30 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “In Faithfulness He Leads Me” playing through my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Habakkuk 3 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk%203&version=NIV

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.

Lord, I have heard of your fame;
    I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
    in our time make them known;
    in wrath remember mercy…

In wrath you strode through the earth
    and in anger you threshed the nations.
You came out to deliver your people,
    to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
    you stripped him from head to foot.
With his own spear you pierced his head
    when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though about to devour
    the wretched who were in hiding.
You trampled the sea with your horses,
    churning the great waters.

I heard and my heart pounded,
    my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
    and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
    to come on the nation invading us.
Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    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.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.

I Stand in Awe

Habakkuk recounted what he knew of God from of old, and also what he had heard from God in this dialogue between him and God. Habakkuk had just complained to God concerning the wickedness and the injustice he saw going on in the land of Judah and how it seemed God was not answering prayer. Then God answered him by telling him he was sending the Babylonians to invade Judah, as God’s judgments against her for her sins of idolatry and spiritual adultery. Habakkuk struggled with the idea of the wicked Babylonians being used as God’s divine instrument of judgment against God’s people, yet he finally reconciled himself to the fact that this must take place.

Habakkuk, having reconciled himself to the fact of what must surely take place agreed with God, and basically said, “So be it. Let it happen, yet in judgment show mercy.” I have prayed that prayer to God many times concerning what I know is about to hit this world of ours. He accepted that this was the only way in which God’s people would get their hearts right with God. It pained him so that these things must take place, yet he accepted God’s sovereign will. I empathize with him. And, I also agree with God.

To Deliver the People

The purpose of God’s judgments on Egypt was to deliver God’s people from slavery to Egypt. God’s purpose of judgment on Judah was to deliver God’s people from slavery to sin, because they had become so idolatrous and adulterous, rebellious and unrepentant, although he had warned them time and time again. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, having taken our punishment for sin upon himself so that we can be free from slavery to sin and eternal punishment. Yet, many professing Christians today are not following the Lord, and are not exercising their freedom in Christ from slavery to sin. They have become lukewarm, complacent, rebellious, idolatrous and spiritually adulterous (See Rev. 2-3). So, God’s purpose in judgment in these final days will again be to deliver his people out of slavery to sin. When judgment comes, he will have his people’s attention, they will cry out to God in humility and repentance, and God will revive their hearts and renew their faith in him. Yet, he will deliver them also from the influences of false teachers, of our government and media, and from the influences of our society, for their eyes will now be opened and they will see clearly the times in which we now live and how they had been so deceived.

I Will Wait Patiently

Habakkuk was distraught that his people would have to endure such suffering at the hands of the wicked Babylonians, yet he resolved in his mind and heart to put his trust in Almighty God and in his sovereign will and to wait patiently for the time in which God would then judge his divine instruments of judgment. He resolved also to endure the time of testing that would come upon his people and their land, and to rejoice in the Lord and to be joyful in God, his Savior, despite how bleak things would become.

The Bible says that such a time is yet coming upon this earth. I believe the signs are there pointing to the fact that this time is very near, i.e. it is at the door. Yet, we are not to be afraid nor are we to doubt God when all hell begins to break loose, literally. God will allow this evil trio of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet to reign and to rule the whole earth for a short period of time – a time in which God will also visit this earth with his wrath. Yet, I believe that through this time the eyes of the blind will be opened and that people will flock to Jesus Christ and to his gospel, that the church will be revived, and that we will be delivered from the control of deception that has been over us as a people, particularly here in America. In other nations their eyes may have already been opened.

Though this will be a time of great hardship, persecution and death to those who hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ, I believe there will be great rejoicing that the church has now been set free of her captivity to man’s influences and she will now become what God intended her to be all along. And, God will be our strength and our shield to see us through these difficult days that lie ahead, and he will give us the victory over our enemy Satan so that we can endure, be victorious, and overcome all that Satan throws our way. Amen!

In Faithfulness He Leads Me / An Original Work / March 20, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures
(Ps. 26:3; 86:11; 91:4-5; 111:7-8; 119:73-76;
Is. 25:1,4&9; 42:6-7; Hos. 2:16-20)

Teach me Your ways, Lord, and I’ll walk in them.
Give me a pure heart. I’ll fear Your name.
Your love is always, ever before me.
Continually I’ll walk in Your truth.
You will cover me with feathers.
Under Your wings I’ll find refuge.
My Lord’s faithfulness will be my
Comfort and my shield.
The works of His hands are faithful and just.
Trustworthy are all of His precepts.

Your hands have made me, and they have formed me.
Give understanding of Your commands.
I have put my hope, O Lord, in Your word.
Your teachings, O Lord, are righteousness.
Lord, in faithfulness You have
Afflicted me so I may learn of
Your unfailing love and comfort
And Your truthfulness.
You are my husband; You have betrothed me
In love, compassion and faithfulness.

O Lord, You are my God, I’ll exalt You.
In faithfulness You’ve done wondrous things.
You’ve been a refuge for those who’re needy;
A shelter in storms; shade from the heat.
This is the Lord, we trusted in Him,
Let us be glad and rejoice
In His salvation which He
Provided through the Lamb.
Open the blind eyes; free all the captives.
Tell them of Jesus: “Be born again!”

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