The Necessity for Christians to Trust God to Vindicate Them in His Time!

Habakkuk 2:4.        Behold, his soul that is lifted up (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

And then it was a wintry Monday; dark, snowy, slippery, aggravating and frustrating, as snow storms usually are when you must drive to work in them. But that’s all par for the course my brethren. It’s what living in the northern climes calls for and it’s what makes us such tough and hardy folks. (smile) Hope that you all left home early enough to escape most of the rush hour traffic and those who still drive unwisely under poor road conditions. Anyway, we pray that you arrived at your destinations safely, be it work, school or play, and that you will return home just as safely. We pray it all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! 

Now, yesterday in church, I heard an interesting scripture that I was not familiar with, but it made a big impression on me. It comes from the book of Habakkuk. The Book begins by saying, ‘The burden (oracle, prophecy) which the prophet Habakkuk the prophet did see. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 

Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance (trouble, toil)? For spoiling (plundering) and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife (there is strife) and contention. Therefore the law is slacked (powerless), and judgement (justice) doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about (surround) the righteous; therefore wrong (perverse) judgement proceedeth.’ (Hab. 1:1-4) 

Yes friends, that was Habakkuk’s cry to the Lord, who, in his prophetic vision, was only showing him violence and evil, suffering for the righteous and prosperity for the wicked who were dominating the situation with evil, perverted schemes. In other words, a sentence of divine judgement to befall at the appropriate time. And the part of that scripture which really caught my attention was the last verse about the slackness or powerlessness of the law and the perverse or wrong justice that comes about because of the powerlessness of the law. 

And it just struck me as a similar situation to the one which our society is currently embroiled in, where lawlessness is increasing, but the law is not doing anything constructive about it, because the evil doers are pulling the strings, and thus we are becoming a rather violent and strife-filled society. Too many rules are daily being broken with little or no consequences to the lawbreakers. And it’s sad that many of them are not first-time lawbreakers, but those with records to their names. 

There is little incentive to abide by the law, as well as not enough serious consequences to stop breaking it. And as some like to say, laws are only made for those who wish to abide by them; those who want to break them, will break them anyway. But there must be some repercussions for breaking them, else why bother to have them at all, let’s simply live in a barbaric society. And that’s exactly what we are inching closer to every day, because there’s such inhumanity towards each other that it makes one’s stomach churn in dismay. 

And I can imagine how all the modern prophets burdened with a prophecy like Habakkuk must be crying out to the Lord as they see the injustice, violence and ‘sufferation’ being meted out to many of the righteous in our society. But the wonderful thing about the Lord is that He might allow the evil doers to prosper for a while, but He’s promised that they will eventually be destroyed, and the righteous will inherit the earth and all that the wicked possessed. 

So, after opening his heart and complaining to the Lord, about the iniquity of Babylon and their abuse of other nations, here’s how Habakkuk opens Chapter 2. ‘I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower (rampart), and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.’ (Hak. 2:1) 

Good for Habakkuk! He’s standing up and waiting for an answer from the Lord and contemplating his own answer to the Lord’s reproof. But the Lord surprises him with this answer. ‘And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables (tablets), that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul that is lifted up  (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.’ (Hab. 2:2-4) 

Yes, my people, the Lord instructed Habakkuk to write the coming of the divine judgment on tablets big enough so those who are running by can read it. And He makes sure to tell him that though justice might take a while to come, it surely will come, so don’t lose hope. And I guess that’s the same message He is sending us today my faithful brethren; eventually, He will relieve the pressure and the wicked will be destroyed, and we faithful will be vindicated. 

And yes, it might be tough to see the prosperity of the wicked, but let’s remember like Asaph did in Psalm 73, when he was envious of the boastful and the prosperity of the wicked, but thankfully, as he recounts: ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.’ (Ps. 73:17) 

Hopefully, we will also come to that wise understanding and afterwards, say like Asaph: ‘My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee (are unfaithful). But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps. 73: 26-28) Now let’s put that declaration (chuh!!!) in to practice and draw near to God at the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hym, seeking divine aid. 

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. 

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, if we sincerely desire divine aid, then it’s ever so necessary for us to do as our prayer says: ‘turn from our evil ways.’ Remember, we are the ones it’s hurting, not the Lord. Much LOVE!

…He who has promised is faithful…and that ought to be enough for us…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 October 2017 Psalm 37:7a.

Psalm 37:7a.   Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: 

And then it was Friday – that joyful harbinger of the weekend! Yeh friends, the weekend’s here at last, and I know many of us have been dying to see it because we’ve gone through this short work week in a tired state after all the Columbus and Thanksgiving Days celebrations. So make sure you rest up now. (smile) 

And despite it being Friday the 13th, the workingman is positive and upbeat, not paying attention to any of the folktales of impending evil that’s supposed to lurk around and befall us on those days. And neither should we. 

He has already broadcast his intentions for the weekend. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and our time will soon be ours. We don’t have to bow and scrape to no slave master to earn a measly pittance so we can go on living this substandard life! Chuh man! Is time that done now yes! 

That’s why we going to jump and shout and sing for joy, and eat and drink and party to the fullest, for who knows when the grim reaper will come eh? Thank God for Fridays and the weekends!’ 

Oh friends, as always, the workingman has some good points, especially the one about substandard living. With all the wealth in our world, it’s high time the lower echelon of society be afforded the opportunity to live better lives through higher wages. 

The immense poverty in the lower ranks of our society are ungodly, to say the least. And the horrible inequity is growing as the wicked rich try to accumulate more than they already have by taking what little the poor man has. 

Ah Lord eh! No wonder the Good Book promises the eventual destruction of the wicked and the ascendancy of the righteous, for in the Lord’s kingdom, justice will always prevail. 

Now let’s chant our Friday Chant to keep us on the right course for the weekend. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. 

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’ 

And again we notice that our Bit is ever so truthful, because the wicked are having their way right now, but soon they will be cut down like grass and we won’t remember them anymore. That’s why we must learn to ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:’ 

Yeh mih people, our God’s faithful and true, but it’s all about His timing. He is the one who sets’ the overall plan and thus knows when things are supposed to happen so that those plans can come to fruition. Our trying to help Him, or rush them along usually just ends up in disappointment. 

And here is an interesting testimony on the subject of patience from Father Bob Colaresi, Director of the Carmelite body of Catholic priests. Writing in the publication, ‘Between Friends,’ the booklet of the Friends of St. Therese of Lisieux Society, he states. 

“I remember when I was recovering form spinal surgery. I was so impatient with the slow recovery – impatient suffering isolates and hardens hearts. Prayer seemed impossible because I felt abandoned. In desperation, I finally asked St. Therese how she got through her darkness and suffering. 

Hoping for some uplifting answer, I was disheartened when I heard her whisper: “Trust God!” That honestly angered me, as I screamed at her: “Look where you are and I’m here in bed unable to walk!” I froze her out with silent rage for weeks. 

Finally, tired of being depressed, impatient, and helpless, I again asked her. Again the same gentle whisper: “Trust God!” “Don’t you have anything else to say?” I cried out in surrender. 

It was a long process for me to physically heal, but even longer to learn the primary healing lesson that I was not the messiah who thought he could run the whole world. I had to reconcile with the fact that the world was moving on without me. 

Do you know how heavy is the burden of thinking you have to keep the world running? It was humbling and freeing – a real healing of my identity and soul. But only patience allowed me to learn that lesson of LOVE, freedom and truth.’ 

There you have it friends, testimony from a man of Christ, a leader of Christians for many years, honestly acknowledging that his patience was not as great as it ought to have been, and he had to learn the lesson the hard way, literally on his back. 

For all you know, the Lord might have allowed his spinal problems for that exact reason. He works in such mysterious and underhanded ways. Let us therefore not beat ourselves up, if our patience level is less than it should be. 

Instead, let’s cry out to the Lord for help to elevate it, so that we can wait on his timing without getting all flustered and panic stricken. It’s not easy friends, but with our omnipotent and merciful God on our side, always there to help, we can do any and everything. Please remember that. 

And today, let’s spend some time pondering our patience level nuh, and figure out how we can improve it. It will be to our great advantage. Much LOVE!

…Patience is a surrender to the truth…that God is in charge…and that God’s Providence is good…  (St. Therese of Lisieux)