Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is: 2 Chronicles 35, Habakkuk 1-3, Acts 25
Happy Monday Everyone!
Habukkuk's prayer stood out for me in today's reading. I love the progression of proclaiming God's goodness and strength. Starting in a personal way, extending to God's power throughout His creation, then ending in a personal way again. John MacArthur says:
This chapter is a great prayer. It is a classic example of prayer. Habakkuk's attitude in his prayer is simply this: God I don't understand everything, I don't understand why You let Israel go, I don't understand why You're bringing the Chaldeans to judge them, I don't understand why You're going to wait to judge the Chaldeans after that, I don't understand any of the things, but I know one thing God, You're the God that is righteous, You're the God that's eternal, You're the God that never makes a mistake, You're the God that hates sin, You're the God that never does anything wrong and I'll stand on that and praise You anyhow.
Oh how hard that must have been! And how hard is this for us still today! God I don't understand this hurt in my life, or God - I don't understand why you allow this to happen in my life... it could be countless things we don't understand about God, but Habakkuk shows us here that we can praise God anyhow!
John MacArthur tells us in the same sermon that: His prayer embodies four parts that really are the parts of every prayer. They are petition, remembrance, and natural consequence to remembrance, which is praise, confession and adoration. Petition, remembrance, confession and adoration: the four parts of his prayer that are really the four parts of any prayer that is a prayer.
Later on in the same sermon MacArthur continues on:
Now we see the key how to praise the Lord anyhow. It's just simple. We just look back and we just start remembering God's continued constant never ending, never hesitating, never stopping faithfulness. And we take it from there. And we can stand face to face with the problem and we can back off of that problem and say now wait a minute, not only is my God good and right and never does anything wrong, and not only does He love me and care for me, and not only is He the kind of a God who is absolutely eternally righteous, but something else about Him, He's also absolutely and eternally faithful. And He has promised to keep that which I have, what, committed unto to Him. That's a New Testament promise for us. And Jesus said, "I will never, what, leave you or forsake you."
And God has proven Himself faithful throughout all the years. God has never proven Himself unfaithful at any time at any place in history at any juncture in human life. God is always faithful and we can stand today and step back from the most gross problem from the most unbelievable perplexity, from the most confusing dilemma and we can say, "I don't understand the problem, but I understand God and God is faithful."
How very true. God really IS absolutely and eternally faithful. Even when we don't understand, He is faithful.
Tomorrow's passage: Jeremiah 1-2, Acts 26
1 comment:
The words to that song were so beautiful Jody, and so applicable to today's passage, thank you.
Probably one of my favourite Bible passages....
"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 Saviour."
No matter how bad the circumstances, I WILL rejoice because God is enough.
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