Monday 3 Jul 2023

July 3: Habakkuk 2:1-4

Key Verse: Habakkuk 2:4
‘See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness –

Devotion:
How many times have you given in to someone who is causing you grief just so you can try and put things behind you… only to find that person causes you more and more grief because they thought they would get away with it just like the first time? This is what is happening with the evil one in our lives. The more we give in and allow him to have his way around us the more he is going to continue coming at us!

Habakkuk thought he and his people were being persecuted by continued wrongdoings by others. He took that out on God and asked God why He was not protecting them from this evil. He thought it was as if the law could not touch these bad actors so he called out to God.

The Lord’s answer to Habakkuk was probably not one he was expecting because he was warned of the Babylonians overcoming the people of Israel, not to allow evil to win, but because the hearts of the people had become cold and they were ignoring God in their lives.

We look at the world around us and we wonder why so many bad things happen and even ask God where He is in all this. The answer would be similar to Habakkuk’s; god is not ignoring the people, the people are ignoring God. The longer people ignore God the more the evil will be allowed to proliferate and the more we will get caught up in what happens in the world around us. God has promised things and they will happen; we need to have patience and wait on God while encouraging others to rely on Him too.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you complain to God?

How often do you encourage others to seek God?