Habakkuk 3 ~ in the midst of years

Habakkuk 3 

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1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

2 O Lord, I have heard the report of you,

and your work, O Lord, do I fear.

In the midst of the years revive it;

in the midst of the years make it known;

in wrath remember mercy.

3 God came from Teman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran.

His splendor covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise. Selah

4 His brightness was like the light;

rays flashed from his hand;

and there he veiled his power.

5 Before him went pestilence,

and plague followed at his heels. [feet]

6 He stood and measured the earth;

he looked and shook the nations;

then the eternal mountains were scattered;

the everlasting hills sank low.

His were the everlasting ways.

7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;

the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

8 Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?

Was your anger against the rivers,

or your indignation against the sea,

when you rode on your horses,

on your chariot of salvation?

9 You stripped the sheath from your bow,

calling for many arrows.  Selah

You split the earth with rivers.

10 The mountains saw you and writhed;

the raging waters swept on;

the deep gave forth its voice;

it lifted its hands on high.

11 The sun and moon stood still in their place

at the light of your arrows as they sped,

at the flash of your glittering spear.

12 You marched through the earth in fury;

you threshed the nations in anger.

13 You went out for the salvation of your people,

for the salvation of your anointed.

You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,

laying him bare from thigh to neck.  Selah

14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,

who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,

rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

15 You trampled the sea with your horses,

the surging of mighty waters.

16 I hear, and my body trembles;

my lips quiver at the sound;

rottenness enters into my bones;

my legs tremble beneath me.

Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble

to come upon people who invade us.

17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

19 God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer's;

he makes me tread on my high places.

A good friend of mine had to teach her first two Bible Studies in one week.  The second was unexpected and a long bible study, she had to teach her working husband’s Bible Class. She started telling me about teaching the High School CCE class and she did such a good job, I told her she’d written my Scripture for Today Blogspot.

She was very nervous and she asked the crowd of 30 teenagers how many had gone to Church that weekend. No one really wanted to respond, but Renee called for a show of hands. One (1!) teenager had attended Church. She asked what the sermon had meant to him, he said he was sorry, but he hadn’t gotten much out of it. Renee smiled and said, that is exactly what the sermon was about.  We go to Church expecting to be filled and there are a lot of Sundays, if something had happened, we missed it. 

This woke up the teenage crowd. Wow, something unexpected. Yes, the Book of Habakkuk is about the times in life, where we want justice, we want mercy, we want a miracle, we want a glimpse of God’s goodness and not a lot happens. 

It is part of Dr. Seuss. Oh, the places you’ll go, until your sails have no wind in them. And you will sit. 

The Priest agreed some seasons of our lives, we feel our relationship with God is dry, all dried out. We go to Church and not a lot happens. He told about his own Habakkuk story of his life. He was being ordained, but at the time, you had to be ordained first & only then you were given your first assignment because, if they gave you your assignment first – you might flee. And he was ordained, his assignment came in - Lo(w) & behold it was a failing Church in North Houston. Extremely poor with a Senior Priest struggling with Cancer.  The fiscal part of the Church was falling into dust. Yet the young priest knew he’d been “Called”.  Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland style  - they were having a Gala to help the Church hold on one more year. The make it or break it year. 

The young priest attended every single committee meeting for the Gala. This was known to the congregation and surrounding congregations how important this Gala was. Everyone felt so blessed to have a young priest who had been called to them for this Gala. He was commissioned and agreed to pray in the Church for one hour every day for the sole purpose of good weather for the Gala – held outdoors with a famous singer.  It was a month known for good weather; the young priest knew good weather was God’s plan. He met with the Lord every day.  The night before the Gala - a perfect forecast.  The priest slept soundly. The day of … rain. That was okay, the famous singer, was scheduled for the second day. The second day, not rain, just all day thunder, lightning, and a monsoon. The event site kept the down payment, even though the event was canceled. The singer was canceled.

The priest went back to the Church. He didn’t pray for sunshine, he prayed about his embarrassment his prayers were unanswered. He prayed about the failure of his first work. He prayed in distress and anguish. The prayers and hopes he felt had been downcast. The Senior Priest, so ill, now had to worry how they would make it through the year.  

As the young priest left the building he wondered what he would say to the congregation. For the next two weeks, checks poured in from the congregation and the surrounding congregations – more money than expected to make with the Gala. The letters came in, with checks, saying how sorry everyone had been the Gala work had not been able to came to fruition.  The priest went back to the Church, hit his knees, he was embarrassed again. He was so sorry, he'd relied upon his own wisdom, his own eyes to see the path, to plot the direction. God had been working His plan all along.

Just as we all have times of  dry spells, we will have patience and wait upon the Lord.  Dry spells or rainy spells, God will be praised.

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