30. Habakkuk

Whenever I hear of a man who genuinely walks with God and enjoys conversational intimacy with him, they grab my attention. I am just fascinated by people who are able to claim that kind of closeness to the Lord. I want that kind of walk, I actually yearn for that kind of walk. And understand me, I do have my moments but they are still moments. Habakkuk was a man who knew a lot about prayer, it wasn’t easy for him but he put the time in to develop a proper conversational relationship with God. 

There is not a lot else to be said about this prophet, because we really only know him for his epic prayer that pretty much lasts for three chapters. It starts with a good old moan about the way things are, he then gets an awesome glimpse into God’s glory and it finishes with a full-on praise fest. 

So, let’s crack on... 

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Idea 1: It’s OK to take your complaints to God In the first chapter of Habakkuk, we see him complaining to God. This prophet is fed up of always seeing ’such terrible injustice’. There is violence, lawlessness, crime and cruelty everywhere. The law is rarely upheld, criminals seem to get off lightly and honest people suffer. The world hasn't really changed that much, has it? 

As I have previously shared, my wife and I struggled to start a family and that was particularly hard on my wife. This went on for a few years, and during that time I found it harder and harder to pray. One morning, I was sitting in our living room. It was about 7am and I was reading my Bible. I started to pray, I just felt like I needed to connect somehow with God. So I asked him: “…what is the one thing I need to thank you for this morning?”Without a moment’s hesitation I heard: “…just be thankful that Jo is able to be honest with me and to vent her feelings!” I thought that was a bit weird, and I didn’t really understand it but I thanked God for this anyway. Not many minutes later my wife came into the living room in floods of tears. She felt terribly guilty because all she seemed to be doing was shouting at God. So I told her what God had told me to be thankful for and it has truly led to both of us having a much more healthy relationship with God. 

God has incredibly broad shoulders and he wants to be part of our pain. 

•  When you pray do you feel the need to be formal and religious? Or can you open your heart to God and simply be honest?

•  Have you been finding it difficult to even pray lately, so you just don’t do it? Would having the permission to complain to God help you start praying again?

Idea 2: Trust God, even when the circumstances look rough As we have already discovered, Habakkuk was pretty disillusioned with the world, and he was brutally honest about that with God. Now I don’t know about you, but when I pray I am looking for God to fill me with peace and hope, to basically make me feel better by seeing the big picture. So, when God answers Habakkuk, it must have come as a bit of a surprise because he spoke about times that would be hard to stomach. He basically tells Habakkuk that he will be sending the Babylonians, they are fierce and cruel and they will destroy the towns and cities as they pass through. 

Fortunately, that is not all that God says! As you read through the three chapters you begin to see how the Lord will turn it all around. This is no moment for despair, this is an opportunity to trust the Lord because he has good plans for their future: “Just as water fills the sea, the land will be filled with people who know and honour the Lord.”

•  Are your current circumstances looking rough? It may be in your finances, your work, your relationships or some other area of your life and you cannot see the way out.

•  What would it look like to trust God to help you gain the victory in the long term?

Idea 3: God will help you get to the place of praise Habakkuk ends up in an amazing praise fest in chapter three. I love that he didn’t ignore the terrible plight in which he lived, he prayed honestly to God and miraculously God revealed his glory to him. When you read this chapter, it literally feels like Habakkuk is physically sitting in God’s throne room and seeing this glory with his own physical eyes:

“The brightness of your glory covered the heavens and your praises were heard everywhere on the earth. Your glory shone like the sun, and light flashed from your hands…” v.3-4 

The thing is, it really is OK to be open and honest with God in prayer. This is what makes us authentic. But we must come to the place where we fall on our faces in worship and prayer. Because, as we discovered in the study on Job, God is good ALL THE TIME. 

•  When was the last time you caught a glimpse of God’s glory?

•  Do you believe that if you sat down, laid aside everything for a while and just focused all your attention on God that you would learn to trust him more and more?

•  What verses in the bible do you find most helpful in reminding you of the enormity of God’s glory?

Actions

Determine to spend some regular time with God alone. Make this your daily practice. Some people call it a quiet time, but it doesn’t matter what you call it. It is just about carving out time to experience God’s presence in a very personal way. 

In the 52 Men book, Carl Beech shared that he found Habakkuk 3:19 really helpful to focus all his attention on God. You might want to read this verse and see if it is helpful for you too. Don’t worry if it isn’t, there are plenty of other verses that will help you - pray that God will lead you to the right verses for you and then start looking through your Bible.