The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:19 NIVUK
https://bible.com/bible/113/hab.3.19.NIVUK
"You're not making me happy!"
I'll never forget the tantrum from my daughter when she was a pre-schooler. Not because it was spectacular. She threw much more spectacular tantrums than that. All pre-schoolers do. They don't quite understand the world they live in and quickly become frustrated. No, it was those words. She clearly believed that the purpose of a parent was to keep her happy at all times. But she was clearly not getting her way and felt that we were therefore failing in our duty as her parents.
I can't even remember why she threw the tantrum. I doubt if she could either. After all, it was probably well over a decade ago. But those words have always stayed with me. Why? Because I've heard much more 'mature' Christians, people who are ten or twenty times older, throw the same tantrum. God does not do what they want, so the toys come out of the pram and the tantrum starts.
It goes without saying that our present crisis goes way beyond anything that could 'make us happy'. However, Habakkuk is a prime example of someone who is able to trust God in the face of an overwhelming crisis and not throw a tantrum. Yes, he questions God. And his questions are recorded in detail. But he never loses faith in God.
The crisis Habakkuk faced was one with incredible consequences. For the Jewish nation it wasn't just one that would cost them jobs, livelihood or even their health. No, it was about to cost them their Temple, their very existence as a nation and their lives.
You see, Habakkuk prophesied at a time when Judah was in great distress. Their neighbouring kingdom of Israel had already been taken into exile by the Assyrians. But Judah had not heeded the warning. Habakkuk had a rare insight into the terrible injustices taking place in his own country. He brought it before God to ask why He was allowing these to take place and how long it would take for God to intervene.
God told him that He would send the ruthless Babylonians to punish Judah for what they were doing. Habakkuk then asked God why He would send an evil nation like the Babylonians to punish Judah when the Babylonians were worse than them. God then explains that the Babylonians themselves would face His punishment for their sins. In short, God explains that He has all Habakkuk's burdens under control; that He is still just and still on the throne.
We are not under attack by a ruthless foreign army. We are instead under attack by a ruthless, heartless virus. So how can these verses apply to us?
Maybe you are questioning God at this time. Maybe you are wondering why He has allowed this to happen. Maybe you are asking Him what He's doing about it. These are all legitimate questions - Habakkuk asked them all - provided they come from a heart that is full of faith. There are three aspects of Habakkuk's faith, resulting from his strong belief that God is sovereign, which help us to get through those times when we are tempted to doubt God.
The first is STRENGTH. We see this in the words "The Sovereign Lord is my strength".
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I think the whole nation is asking questions, When will this end”?