Yesterday we began to study
one of the most important verses in the whole Bible. We observed how
Habakkuk finally understood that in order for a person to come to
right thinking, he or she had to put away pride and self-sufficiency.
Today we will consider how we are to live before God when our focus
is no longer upon our understanding, but upon God Almighty who knows
everything we need. Once again Habakkuk said in verse four of chapter
two:
Behold, his soul
[which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live
by his faith.
The
Chaldeans being used as instruments of judgment against the wicked of
Israel went beyond Habakkuk's understanding, and although God told
him in advance that he would not believe His ways, Habakkuk listened
to and argued with God and His choices. There are many times we do
not understand all the ways of God. His ways are beyond our ways, and
in fact, many times they go beyond our finding out. This is where the
second part of our verse comes in: “but the just shall live by
his faith.” In other words, just people live by faith. Faith is
an indicator as to whether a person is just or not. We considered the
importance of this truth to Paul the apostle as he wrote in Galatians
chapter three and verse eleven:
But that no man is
justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident: for, The
just shall live by faith.
Paul the
apostle had lived as a Pharisee among Pharisees who were the most
religious people of his day. He lived outwardly by the laws of God,
but inwardly Paul did not know God. Paul was following a religious
system that was based upon man's understanding of God and not a
relationship with God that was based upon faith. Habakkuk and Paul
came to understand that even when they did not understand the ways of
God, God did. The Heavenly Father who is all-knowing is to be trusted
in, relied upon, and clung to by those who will have a relationship
with Him.
It is
interesting how we are easy to believe those who have more knowledge
than we when it comes to repairing our automobiles, medical care,
home maintenance and other venues that require expertise, but when it
comes to trusting God, we seem to have trouble. We trust our lighting
systems even if we know nothing about electricity, and we certainly
put a lot of faith in computers, cell phones and other technological
devises even though we may not be able to understand how they work.
Yet when we are without understanding with our omniscient God, we
find difficulty in simply having faith in Him.
Habakkuk
came to a place where he trusted God, and not his own understanding.
As Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs in chapter three and verses
five and six:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own
understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
your paths.
If we
are to have a relationship with God, we must come to Him in faith.
All of our questions will not be answered otherwise it would not be
by faith. Habakkuk and Paul understood that the wisest decision that
we can ever make is to trust in a God who knows more than we do,
understands more than we do, and has a better plan than we do or ever
will have for our lives.
Next
time we will begin to examine the vision that was given to Habakkuk
to write down, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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