I have been meditating on all 3 Chapters of the book of Habakkuk. One of the character traits of Habakkuk I hadn’t paid attention to before was patience. Hearing that word brings a churning in my stomach. It is not a characteristic I like. It doesn’t give me what I want now. I am sure we can all relate. I know because I can not count how often I am asked to pray for patience for someone.
One thing that turns us off about patience is the waiting process. We already don’t want to do that. There is a specific kind of waiting. It is specific to Christians in that it is indicative of our lives being on display as a testimony of our trust in God. Habakkuk demonstrated the patience to have while waiting on God, 2:1 “I will stand upon my watch, set me upon the tower, and watch to see what he will say unto me...”
We see the intention of Habakkuk to seek the Lord in prayer. He was also willing to stand waiting for God to answer. There was no tapping of his fingers. While he didn't understand what God was doing, Habukkuk did not usurp God to make things happen the way Habukkuk wanted. H waited to see what “he will say unto me...”
What if God's answer is not what we want to hear?
Habakkuk teaches us how to handle that. He goes on to say, “and what I will answer.” We are told in Scripture, “you have not because you ask not...” but then James 3 points out the key is our motives. What Habakkuk wanted wasn’t the direction God would take the Nation, yet God allowed the conversation with Habukkuk. Habukkuk also had to choose how to respond to what God was saying. God doesn't mind our questions. He does rebuke our assertions and assumptions about his character. Read Job 38 &42:7-9. God’s plan and his answer weren’t changed at the end of all this waiting. Habakkuk was!
What I learned about true godly “fruited” patience is the outcome doesn’t come from God changing to please me. I'm changed by waiting on God. He teaches me His plans are perfect. Like Habakkuk was changed by settling into God and then into His answer, I need to do the same thing. Habakkuk made the choice that God was enough; 3: A Hymn of Faith
17 “Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.”
Habakkuk couldn’t understand God’s answer and may not have liked it. Yet He settled into God and knew what God was doing was the perfect answer. Not just for him but for all that ailed God's children, Judah. Their sin needed to be judged. God needed to hold them accountable. Habukkuk just couldn't understand why God was doing this the way he was. Habukkuk probably read Isaiah 58:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD..."
While I wait, in Godly patience, for His answer to something desperate on my heart, I will stand my post. With prayer, I stand my post. I wait not only for what he will say, but I prepare my response. A response that will not change God’s plan. Because he loves me, He will hear my heart and help me lean into Him in His Son. Even with possible tears. There may even be some disappointment, but I will say, like Habakkuk, “... THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH...”
It does not matter if I get what I want in the affirmative or He says, “No!” Continuing to wait is a gift. God's answer may allow things to get worse before they get better. “He will make me walk on my high hills.” And guess what? The process doesn’t allow for the avoidance of patience. The only thing is, how will it look on you or me while we stand, watch and wait for Him to answer?
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