With God, We've Got This

 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds,  O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2 

Rampant fear is commonplace in the world today, as is a deep suspicion of all things political, media-driven, or just authority or people in general. It's exactly the kind of vulnerable environment in which Satan thrives—terrified, worried, discordant, paranoid—a cushy domain for working his own personal terrorism upon each individual. Sometimes people aren't aware enough of his tricks, and though Satan doesn't deserve our full attention, he does warrant the acknowledgement that his loser behind has no business being anywhere near us. When we allow fear and lies to override our faith, we leave ourselves open to his attacks by allowing doubt and anxiety to crowd everything we know to be true about and from God. 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 

Fear is a death sentence delivered directly from the enemy. I know that was a bold sentence, but if we live in constant fear or always bent out of shape about something, we're not really living from a place of trust in God to take care of us. One way I think of it is that love increases–adding lightness and brightness, but fear shrinks us into the shadows–small and dark. Fear is a thief and a liar, while love gives, and tells the truth. Fear steals the peace that God gives us freely. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Fear makes us believe we have to do something in our own strength, instead of relying on God for His. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Does this mean that if we have faith, we will never be afraid? Of course not. We all face difficult situations in life that can leave us fearful, but we are to trust God with our fears. Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you. 

In fact, Habakkuk, though he had a strong relationship with God, came to him with fear and  big complaints, much like many people do. I see fear and questions about God's competence all the time in comments while reading news stories. I know, why do I even scroll down that far? But it seems that some people want to blame God every time there is a big, bad event.  "If God was real," they say, "why would He let these terrible things even happen?" I like those kinds of questions better than some of the other comments, actually. At least it leaves room for an intelligent answer. When Habakkuk posed similar questions to God, God actually replied. His first complaint–Habakkuk 1:1-4 How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. Can you relate to Habakkuk's frustrations here? He was living through some troubled times himself, and he was struggling with a broken heart by what he was seeing around him, much like many of us still are to this day. But he responded by going to God with his questions! He took his heart full of concerns straight to God and waited for His answer. He went directly to the Source. 

God answered Him in the same way He answers us, because although we live in a different time period than that of Habakkuk, we are still struggling with the same kinds of world problems. Violence, corruption, wickedness, liars, and people seemingly getting away with all of it, all while the innocent suffer. This is what was frustrating Habakkuk too. The Lord answered–Habakkuk 1:5- Look at the nations and watch–and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. While Habakkuk was confused by what God was doing, in the end, God in fact did exactly as He said He was going to do. Habakkuk 2:3-4 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it certainly come and will not delay. See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright–but the righteous will live by his faith. 

There it is. Wait for it, God told him. In due time, In My perfect timing, In My perfect plan. I will work it out. In the long run, those people who are seemingly getting away with everything will certainly be punished. We can't forget that God hates sin way more than we ever could! Even if we don't see the justice in the end, we are assured that He will take care of the wrongdoings of this world. Why that timing and sometimes His method makes no sense to us is the great mystery, right? We can't begin to comprehend God's ways because we are not God. What will bring peace in these types of situations is to humble ourselves and put our trust in the Lord, and not lose our cool every time we're not happy with the way things are going. Patience? Yes, that too. Heaps of that. Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

Habakkuk concludes his conversation with God by praising Him for answering his questions and acknowledging that He trusts that He is in control. Habakkuk 3:16-18 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  There it is. He will rejoice and he will be joyful in God, no matter what. That is the faith that gives him peace. That is the same faith that will give us peace when we are staring down our own lack and calamities. 1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  I don't know about you, but I'm not going to give the devil a foothold in my soul by freaking out over the wretched condition of the world. 1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 

We can choose to ruminate on all the negativity in the world and scream that the sky is falling every time something terrible happens. There are people who do this, and don't even realize how much of their physical, spiritual, and emotional energy is wasted by recanting bad news and fretting over every tribulation they hear. The other choice is to take our concerns to God, trust Him to work those issues out in His time for His purpose and for our good, and then trust for those things to take place. Then praise Him in all circumstances, because it will do our achy breaky heart a lot of good. It will brighten, lighten, and free up all those small dark, shadowy, scary places that fear would have us pinned. We can't possibly understand the wisdom of God and why things don't happen in our human time frame. That doesn't mean He's not doing some major behind-the-scenes work. God's grace will help us get through anything coming our way if we just hold on to Him. With God, we've got this. 

Thank you, Lord, for showing us in your Word what you've already done, so we can expect what you're going to do, even if we don't know what that looks like yet. Help us to put our full trust and faith in your plan instead of our own. In Jesus' name, Amen.