They are all around us. No one escapes life without coming face - to - face with them. Some people fare well against them, and others crumble under their tremendous pressure.
Difficult times are as much a fact of life as death. How we endure them speaks greatly toward our faith and character. Troublesome times are sometimes caused by our own failings, the failings of another, or simply allowed by God for a specific purpose.
The Nation of Israel struggled often with idolatry, immorality, ritualism, and a host of other sins, many of which we ourselves face today. Many prophets received revelation from God that the nation would face judgment unless she altered her ways. Many of these same prophets cried out to God to spare the nation such harsh punishment. They called on the nation to turn from their sin and follow the true and living God. One prophet stood apart from the rest. Instead of calling for God to spare the people he cried out that God mete out justice on a perverse nation. When God revealed to Habukkuk what was about to happen the prophet’s outrage turned to terror. How could a holy God use a wicked nation to chastise His own people? The “Why do You allow this to go on,” turned to “How can you do such a thing?” Habukkuk’s situation turned from righteous anger to stressful astonishment. How the prophet dealt with the information given him allows us an opportunity to glean from it how we can handle trying times.
The prophet heard the report of God, and it caused him great consternation. However, the end of the book reveals some wonderful insights into dealing with the hardships and trials that come our way – whether they are our fault or not. First Habukkuk found the opportunity to rejoice in God, the Provider of salvation. It seems that we as Christians often allow the winds and waves of the storm to take our minds off of the One who saved us from the storm. We begin to fret and stew about all the things that are happening to us and often ask “Why?” God is the covenant keeping God. He has yet to break a promise. When He said that He would save us that is what He meant. When the storms come and your ship seems about ready to sink, remember that God has saved you from an eternal death without Him to an eternal life with Him. If we as true believers in Christ can grasp hold of that truth alone, our lives would improve greatly. How sad it is that we, the supposed - to - be happy people, allow circumstances and difficulties to stand in our way of rejoicing in the Lord. On countless occasions, the Word of God tells us to rejoice, never mentioning that it should be contingent on what our circumstances are. Paul the Apostle stated, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). Our joy in Christ Jesus starts at the Cross and looks forward to that blessed hope that we have in Him, our eternal home. Habbakuk knew that God would see the nation through the imminent horror. He had confidence, as we should, in the God of our salvation.
Secondly we find that Habbakuk knew that his strength and stability came from the Almighty God. The report of God’s fierce wrath set the prophet’s heart pounding, his lips quivering, his bones crumbling, and his knees knocking. Face to face with the awesome hand of God, Habbakuk had no other recourse than to be greatly afraid. It is an unfortunate thing that we who are so weak and frail, look to so many weak and frail things to give us the feeling of strength and stability, except to the One who can give us the real thing. We run around in our happy Christian existences calling on our great God only when things get too far out of control. Then, when we have regained control (or so we think) we go right back into the old habits – much like the nation of Israel. During much of their history, the nation waffled back and forth between idol worship and Yahweh worship. Only when God allowed judgment to fall on the nation did they turn back to Him, only to fall back into the old habit. As true Christians we need to realize that our strength comes to us from the One who makes us rise up like eagles and lets us run without tiring. God is the only true and lasting source of energy. He is ready and willing to help us all of the time. Face it, we need God all of the time – in good times and bad. The prophet said that God makes his feet like hind’s feet and allows him to move easily about the heights. God gives us that stability to easily navigate the pitfalls and mountains of life. Because we are constantly facing trials we need to always be calling on the strength that God gives to us.
Should difficulty invade your heart today, remember that God is our salvation and will not allow the foot of the righteous to falter. He is there to strengthen us when our hearts are pounding, our lips trembling, our bones crumbling, and our knees knocking. Trust God for your strength and stability in the rough times. After all, if He can save you from an eternal death, giving you strength to live every day in the face of hardship is as easy as eating a piece of warm apple pie.
