Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9

(Tip: read Habakkuk 1:1-2:5 before reading this snippet)

Previously, we discussed how Habakkuk cried out to God in despair because of the unholiness of his fellow citizens (Hab 1:2-3).  In this snippet, we reflect on how God unexpectedly answered his cry.

God told him he was going to use a nation – the Chaldeans – to judge the unholiness that he was seeing.  This nation, according to Habakkuk, was acting even more unholy than his own countrymen (Hab 1:4-5,6,7-11).  This caused Habakkuk a tremendous amount of despair, leading him to question his knowledge of God for a second time. Appealing to God’s eternal and holy character (Hab 1:12-13) he asked God two questions:

1. Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? (Hab 1:13)
2. Is he [Chaldeans] then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever? (Hab 1:17)

Having asked these two questions, Habakkuk retreats to his watchpost and tower and waits for God’s response (Hab 2:1). In divine wisdom, God tells Habakkuk to be patient, thus reminding him that His ways are not our ways (Hab 2:2-3, Rom 11:33-35).  God then reassures Habakkuk with one of the greatest revelations in our world’s history:

“The righteous shall live by faith”.

Faithfulness in Even More Despair: Habakkuk’s Trial (Part 2)

This statement reminded Habakkuk that God is faithful, giving him hope when he seemingly had none.  It assured him that he was going to prosper (live) and also told him how he was going to do it (by faith!).

Habakkuk’s testimony inspires us to remain faithful to God, knowing that He is faithful (Deut 7:9, 1 Cor 1:9). It serves as a reminder that no matter how deep our despair may be, God will never abandon us and has a plan that will preserve and prosper us. It also reassures us that He will always help us, His timing is perfect, and He will use difficult situations to bring us closer to Him by revealing more of Himself and His ways to us.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9