Habakkuk 1: 3 The Lord replied, ” Look at the nations and be amazed! Watch and be astounded at what I will do! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” In the last two days Habakkuk has been quoted to me twice. It’s an obscure book, only 3 chapters long, next to the other tiny books that no one ever reads, like Zepheniah, Nahum, and Haggai (yeah, those books are really in the Bible). So, to have it come up two times in as many days is pretty unusual. I decided to read it, just to satisfy my curiosity. The first couple of verses is Habukkuk complaining to the Lord about things he sees happening around him – courts no longer do justice but are perverted through bribes, government is similarly corrupt, the people love to argue and fight, and there is much violence and destruction. Some might say that this sounds an awful lot like what happens in America today: bribes and payments get unjust laws passed, politicians line their own pockets, criminals win in court even though it’s clear that they are to blame (like the criminal winning a suit after he gets hurt while robbing someone’s house, or the McDonald’s coffee incident – although that person wasn’t a criminal). And often we, as Christians, complain. If we complain to God, that’s okay. He doesn’t mind us telling Him what’s bothering us or what is frustrating us. He listens. And in this case, He answers. God tells Habakkuk that despite all the craziness and difficulty He is at work. That He is doing something in Israel that Habakkuk wouldn’t even be able to comprehend even if He told him. It’s big, it’s amazing, it’s astounding! In their case, it meant that Babylon was coming, which was going to be a difficult pill to swallow. In our days? Well, God is still working. Even in our country today. And it could be something so amazing that we wouldn’t believe it, even if He told us! So, pray for our country (the Bible does tell us to pray for our leaders – the President and congress), and watch to see what He is going to do!
Romans 1:19 says that all people instinctively know the truth of God because He puts that knowledge in our hearts. But some people choose to push that knowledge away because then they can do what they want. The chapter goes on to say that God allowed them to do all the depraved things they wanted, but here would be consequences. Sound familiar? It’s eerily like what is going on in America today. We know there’s a God but many of us choose to ignore Him and to pretend like He doesn’t exist. So we run off and do our own thing. After watching the news lately, this hits home more and more often as our government allows more and more things that go against God’s Word. Kind of scary. But, as always, God is in control so all I can do it trust that He’s got it in His hand.