How Long Lord, Must We Wait?
“How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not
listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
but you do not come to save. Must I
forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I
look, I see destruction and violence. I
am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become
paralyzed, and there is no justice in
the courts. The wicked far outnumber the
righteous, so that justice has become perverted.” Habakkuk 1:2-4 (NLT)
Have you ever prayed – or like me, sometimes shouted to the
Lord – How long Lord must I have to wait for an answer? Are You even listening to me Lord?
Saddened by the violence and corruption surrounding him, the
prophet Habakkuk pours out his heart to God.
In the short book of Habakkuk we read a heart wrenching dialogue between
Habakkuk and God concerning the questions: Why does God often seem indifferent
in the face of evil? And why do evil people seem to go unpunished?
We all have gone to God with what seems an endless “laundry”
list of requests. We even become weary
and wonder if He is hearing our prayers.
We see so much suffering in the world and most personal of all in our
own families – yet it seems God is not answering our prayers; so we begin
questioning God if He really cares or loves us.
Habakkuk could not understand why God seemed to do nothing
about the wickedness in society. Then we
read on in his conversation with the Lord that he finally comes to the
realization that faith in God – and God alone is all we need; to rest assured
that in God’s time He will answer. It is
not for us to question God’s ways, but to trust that God is a just God and have
faith that He is in control and that one day evil will be utterly
destroyed.
Whatever it is you or a loved one or even our country is
going through, we need to pray as the prophet Habakkuk did in 3:17-19:
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are
no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie
empty and barren; even though the flocks
die in the fields, and the cattle barns
are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my
salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a
deer, able to tread upon the heights.”
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NLT)
Using Habakkuk’s mindset of worship (as we read in the above
verses), write a personal prayer that pertains to your situation or your family
members situation or even our countries situation and then complete your prayer
with the Scripture from Habakkuk:
Though____________________________________________________
And_______________________________________________________
Though_______________________________________________________
And_________________________________________________________
Though_______________________________________________________
And_________________________________________________________
“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He
makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”
Habakkuk asked God why evil people seem to prosper while
innocent people suffer. God’s answer is
that they don’t! Not in the long haul. Just
like Habakkuk we see our own limitations in contrast to God’s unlimited power
and control over the world’s events. Be
assured, God is alive and in control of everything! We cannot see the entire picture God is doing
and we cannot see all God will do; but we can rest assured that God is God and
we are not – and He will do what is right and just in His time. In knowing this,
it should give us the confidence and hope we need in this vile and confusing
world.
Yes, even so Lord, I will rejoice in You! For you are my
strength – the God of my salvation!
Praise the Lord!
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