The righteous shall live by faith
Hab. 2:4
Things do not always go according to our wishes and desires. In fact, they often go against them. Then we start to worry.
Judah was about to be invaded. Babylon was getting stronger day by day. The people we frightened and worried. I guess they would be more worried than us today, as the world reels with all sorts of problems.
Habakkuk was the prophet of the LORD during this time. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah. The book of Habakkuk is quite different from other prophetical books. While others receive word from the LORD and prophesy to the people, Habakkuk saw the plight of the people and brought it to the LORD.
Now, as Babylon was becoming stronger, and as the unbelievers are now encircling the people of God, Habakkuk became confused. He could not understand why the wicked would become strong at the expense of the righteous. He asked the LORD, since “you cannot look on wrongdoing; why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?” (Hab. 1:13).
He saw the righteous suffering and could not understand it. We, likewise, often become confused when we suffer and ask God, “Why, LORD?” or “For how long, LORD?”
God then replied to the prophet’s complaint, telling him that Babylon was His instrument in punishing His people and that, even when this is happening, He said, “the righteous shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). This means that, even through sufferings, the righteous shall live because of his faith.
This is a really important message for people who are suffering; and this is what separates us from those who refuse to believe.
Habakkuk now understood that, even if he could not understand what was happening to the full, the future is in God’s hands and that He does what He does, according to His own will. He says, therefore:
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 Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
Let us take a look at ourselves today. We might be facing an untold number of hardships and difficulties in life. We might not even understand why. As we battle the viral pandemic today, we might be in the hospital, in quarantine centres, or in other places worrying about life and why this happened.
Let us remember that the LORD asks us to have faith in Him. Proverbs 3:5 tells us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.” Jesus Christ also assures us to trust in Him (Jn. 14:1).
Like Habakkuk, we might face problems in our lives and not understand a thing. But we must also remember what the LORD told him – to live by faith. We might not understand everything that is coming toward us, but we must know that the LORD has a plan for everything. Everyone who trusts in Him and those who wait upon the LORD will have their strengths renewed (cf Is. 40:29-31). Corrie Ten Boom says, “never be afraid to trust your unknown future to a known God.” Yes, trust in Him, trust your future in Him, because He holds the future.
The Psalmist says (46:1-3), “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
May the good LORD comfort you in your sufferings today.
As long as you trust in your own strength, you will always falter. It is therefore, always better to trust in the LORD. He does not falter or tire. Let us not trust in our own capabilities or strengths, because they will always fail us.
Look at Abraham. He was regarded as righteous, not because of his works. He never had anything to boast before the LORD (Rom. 4:2). His faith alone earned him righteousness (cf. Gen. 15:6; Rom 1:17; 3:22, 28; 4:3, 5, 9, 11, 16, 30; Gal. 2:16; 3:6, 11; Heb. 10:38; Jam. 2:23). Likewise, we will be regarded as righteous because of our faith in Him. Until His coming, let us therefore remain faithful unto Him (Rev. 2:10).
