To say the least, Habakkuk was frustrated with what he thought was God’s indifference to the problems of his day. In his cry, he said:
O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds. (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
Rather than being angry with this prophet, God went into some detail to explain some of the things that were unknown to him. In fact, the Lord told him to “Look among the nations and watch; Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs…” (Vs. 5-6).
God continued to show the prophet the strength and fierceness of the Chaldeans. The prophet then seemed to complain about such harsh judgment, but finally stated, “I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.”
I emphatically believe that God’s providential hand was present in the founding of this great nation—the United States of America. Its greatness can only be accounted for by accepting the fact that God has abundantly blessed it. Yet, then, much like Habakkuk, when things are not going as they we think they ought, we begin to think that God has forsaken us, and maybe He has. However, if we truly trust in God, believing that He is actually in charge of His universe, we might well determine to quit trying to “second guess” Him and His sovereignty. Either He is in charge, or the forces of evil are in charge and He is powerless to change it. Who is he or she that truly believes in God who will take such a position?
Much like Habakkuk, we are able to recognize the immense evil in our world and in our country, evil that is magnified in the lives and actions of those who are in political power, and those who support such powers. It is quite evident that most of those in the entertainment industry, those in government, most of the media and many in some religious circles are deeply engaged in immorality, dishonesty, fraud and total rebellion and denial of the Almighty God and His Word. It seems that every day we learn of many more barbaric acts of those of the Islamic religion. We are exposed by those in power to such things as “gay pride month” and something they call “same-sex marriage.” Our unborn babies are being murdered with the approval of the government, and a preteen girl can buy pregnancy prevention pills without her parent’s consent, while other children can be sent home from school for respecting the flag or bowing their heads in silent prayer.
Like those souls under the altar, those who had been beheaded for the cause of Christ, we sometimes want to cry, “How long O Lord.” Many may have thoughts of personal vengeance against the evildoers of our day. However, God still says, “Vengeance is Mine.” Maybe it would be best for all of us to adopt the attitude of Habakkuk and go “sit on the fencepost” and watch and see what God does. After all, He may be working a work in our time that will be hard for us to believe it even when we see it.
