Habakkuk 1:1-5 How Long?

Habakkuk asks a question that we have ALL probably asked at one time or another. “How long before You make right what is wrong?”

I will start off with God is ALWAYS on time. He is never late and He is never early. HE knows the timing of ALL things. But as His child, who is not so patiently waiting, the cry goes out. “How much longer?” Or, “Is it time yet?”

We have just started in the book of Habakkuk and I already find myself identifying with him. No. Things in my world are NOT like the things of his day. NEITHER day is free from idolatry and the ABSOLUTE NEED for God’s intervention.

Then again, are our days so different? In the life of Habakkuk, he has seen his nation turn away from God. He has seen, or at least heard of, children being killed in the name of gods to grant their parents some kind of ‘favor’. He has seen the very place where God was worshiped turned into a place of idolatry and sin. He has probably even seen the doors of the Temple nailed shut.

I live in the United States of America and have seen MANY of the same things Habakkuk must have witnessed. I have seen my nation turning away from God. I have known of babies ‘sacrificed on the altar of convivence’ (abortion on demand). I know of churches who have ‘watered down’ God’s word so that ANYTHING is permissible. I have known of churches who have closed their doors because their people have drifted away to other more ‘accommodating’ doctrines.

I have witnessed, through television, events that lead me to believe that judgment is at hand for the world. I also know God’s promises regarding that end. I DO NOT fully understand EVERY WORD recorded, but I can surmise from the events happening in the world not that the end is near.

Habakkuk could see the same things in his time. He KNEW God’s promises through the other prophets, as well as what God had revealed to him personally. He knew in his heart that time was running out. And he was questioning, “How much longer” would God wait.

I was thinking about Habakkuk’s question and it brought up a question of my own. What was Habakkuk ‘wishing for’ when he posed the question to God? Was he disgusted with what he saw and wanted God to hurry and wipe the slate clean? Or was he hoping more people would have time to come to Him, IF He delayed a little longer?

That’s a struggle I face when I pray; “Come quickly Lord Jesus!” The evil in this world is growing by leaps and bounds. It is so high now that I fear even those who have followed Him most of their lives may be tempted to turn away. I wonder how much longer before the governments ‘hunt down’ those who follow the Lord and do them harm. But my children and grandchildren are NOT walking in the ways of the Lord. What will happen to them if Jesus comes before they are ready to turn to Him? There are SO MANY who STILL need to hear that God LOVES them and wants only the best for them. Who will tell them after we are caught up to be with Him?

Then I think about the GREAT WITNESS the event of the Rapture will be. For my children and grandchildren, I would bet my life on this being THE even that would bring them to God. My children have heard of this event their whole lives. Surely THIS would get their attention and focus their hearts on the Lord.

What ‘event’ was Habakkuk looking towards? What was it that he was waiting on God to do? Did he believe, as I do, that the event he was anticipating would do the job of bringing those he cared about back in line with God? Or was he asking God to judge the wrong of his day? ‘Grab them by the shirt collar and shake some sense into them!’

Tomorrow we will see how God answers him. I’m purposefully not reading ahead, right now. I want to know, but learning to wait is also a good thing. Habakkuk was apparently struggling with this same ‘waiting’ issue that often plagues my life. SOME THINGS ARE WORTH WAITING FOR.

Father God, You know how difficult patience is for me to exercise. I have learned MUCH patience in the past, but still, I find myself wanting to rush ahead. To ‘read the last page first’ in life. It doesn’t work that way very well. You have shown me SOME of the end to come. Much I don’t understand. Of what I do believe I understand, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Yet I find myself ALMOST wishing it on my children. I DO NOT want them to have to go through the Tribulation time, but I want SOMETHING to grab their attention AND their hearts so that they would turn back to You. YOU know what it will take. I leave that in YOUR capable hands. But I ask still, “How long?”