Friday; September 22

The Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk, lived in a nation that was “on the edge”.  The royal lineage that had been anointed to lead the Israelites in their appointed role as the family of the Messiah had abdicated their responsibility.  The leaders were drawing the people away from their God and their spiritual responsibility.  The immorality and injustices of the nation caused Habakkuk to ask God, “How long are You going to let this go on?”.  The Lord told him that He was in the process of disciplining the “chosen people” with a pagan nation.  This prompted Habakkuk’s second question, “Why would you let a godless people bring justice on those who were better than them?”.  God does His best to explain His reasoning by citing that all evil will be judged and avenged.  When the Lord concludes His reasoning, He reminds Habakkuk (and people of all time) of His sovereignty by observing, “The Lord is in His holy temple.  Let all the earth be silent before Him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)
When we look at the world today we see a place that is in turmoil.  Our fast-paced nature doesn’t just stop with invention, discovery and innovation it is also manifested in how quickly we discover and refine evil.  As believers we are tempted to ask God, “Why?”.  Why is evil so prevalent?  Why don’t You do something about all this?  Why do the good have to suffer while the evil seem to have all the fun?  All these questions tend to make us ask what would happen if God answered us today?  Would it sound remarkedly similar His answer to Habakkuk … “Shhhh … Watch Me, listen to Me, understand Me.  I am Holy, I am in control.  Spend your time worshipping rather than worrying and My ways will make sense to you.”?
Yes, there is evil in the world, but this is nothing new.  God will not be overcome by His creation.  Let’s take time to draw closer to Him and watch as He exposes His majesty.
Think about it!

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