Scripture Text: Habakkuk 3:1-7
O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2
Keith and Kristyn Getty are a husband-and-wife team of Irish Christian songwriters who are committed to composing contemporary hymns. You may have sung some of their work in your church, including “How Deep the Father's Love for Us” and “In Christ Alone.” Keith recently told an interviewer, “A song has to be easy and inspirational to sing, and lyrically it has to teach the truth of God in a way that is emotionally engaging and poetic.” The Gettys also want their hymns to appeal to entire congregations: “We look for songs that bring all ages together because singing is an act of unity.” They see worship as “singing with the generations that have gone before us, and we're singing as a foretaste of what will come after us.”
The book of Habakkuk ends not with more questions, but with worship. The final chapter is a psalm of praise to the Lord! This is a helpful reminder: while we see the prophet can ask God tough questions, we also see that he knows when to stop. From a philosophical standpoint, the dialogue could continue, but theologically the time had come for a Job-like silence before the Lord (2:20). The key theme of this chapter, as one might expect, is justice, and the main point is that justice will be done, as guaranteed by the person and character of God. The opening invocation (v. 2) recalls His awesome deeds on Israel's behalf in history and pleads for a renewal of those inspiring days. Though wrath is coming, Habakkuk prayed and believed that mercy would win out.
Verses 3 through 7 present a poetic picture of God's coming. He is glorious, like the sunrise, with light flashing from His hand. He is powerful, as the earth shakes, the nations tremble, and the mountains crumble. If nature is brought low, fear and reverence by people is inevitable. “His ways are eternal”—nothing human, natural, or supernatural can stand against Him.
Reflect
1. Have you shared a story of true experience of God’s power, goodness, kindness, faithfulness in your life with your friends or family?
2. Do you share Christ’s story and how He changes you?
3. Do you share Christ as the good news?
Remember
The glory of God's coming in today's poetic reading should fill our hearts with joy and anticipation. Think of a time when He entered your life with just such power and awesomeness, a time when He made His love and presence known in unmistakable ways. God's work in our lives is not solely for our benefit; He gives us a story to tell in order to encourage others and bring glory to His name. If you have a testimony of His work, share it and praise Him!
Dear readers, we do not need a new Gospel, but a revival—a revivifying of the old Gospel. If any preach another Gospel than that which the apostles preached, let him be accursed; he is selling bran for wheat; he is filling cartridges with sand. We want nothing but the Gospel of the Cross of Jesus Christ, proclaimed from lips which have received a new baptism of heavenly power.
Read
Exodus 32; Psalm 30:13-17; Revelation 15:4
Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, make my heart jump for joy and my lips tell of the wondrous things about You and the grace that saves me that I found in Your Son. Make my life live to tell about my Lord and Savior and all the glorious ways You did and doing in me. This I pray in His name, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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