The Righteous Shall live by Faith (Habakkuk 2:4)
It can be overwhelming to hear about the events unfolding around the world. A plane crash in India, growing tension in the Middle East with Israel attacking Iran, which could escalate into a full-out war. The ongoing war in Ukraine, and the untold humanitarian crises in Gaza and Sudan, the political tension in the USA, devastating wildfires in the Prairie Provinces, and all the personal challenges we might be facing, it can fill us with dread and anxiety.
As Wednesday in the Word concluded our study of Habakkuk, Habakkuk saw violence and injustice around him. He lamented to God, asking for justice. God answers by revealing his plan to use the Babylonians to punish Judah. This shocks and upsets Habakkuk, so he protests to God that the Babylonians are more wicked and evil, that the solution is worse than the problem.
To this protect, God reassures Habakkuk that the Babylonians will be judged for their wickedness, but God tells Habakkuk that “the righteous shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).
So, what did it mean for Habakkuk to live by faith knowing the coming doom, in times of uncertainty, chaos, and confusion? We see Habakkuk’s response in Habakkuk 3:16-19.
Habakkuk 3:16–19 (ESV)
16I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. 17Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Christopher Wright in his book, “Hearing the Message of Habakkuk: Living by Faith in a Violent World” states Habakkuk’s three amazing resolutions:
Resolve to wait – in the face of paralyzing fear (3:16)
Resolve to Rejoice – in the face of terrifying loss (3:17-18)
Resolve to Be Strong – In the face of all obstacles (3:19)
For Habakkuk to live by faith meant that he would wait, because God would keep his promises of salvation and justice. That he would rejoice, because God would always be there as his Saviour, and would press on in mission, because God gives him strength.
As we live in a broken world of sin and despair, we live with hope in Christ, knowing that Christ has won the victory over sin and death. That God is sovereign and will fulfill his divine plan, so how will you live by faith?
Blessings,
Pastor Kyu Park