Habakkuk Finds Confidence in His LORD

Reading:  Habakkuk 3
My Verse:  "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 is no herd in the stalls,

                        yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
                        I will take joy in the God of my salvation" ( Habakkuk 3:17, 18).


How I love this prayer of Habakkuk's.  He has so changed in his cry out to You, LORD God!  First he was telling You what needed to be done, now he realizes that You will do what is needed and what is best.  Such a hard lesson for us; to have full confidence in Your great wisdom and love.

That is the crux of it isn't it?  We carry on and cry out when our circumstances become difficult.  We forget who we are, who You are.  We forget that You are a God of love and all that you do is out of love.

Pastor in church today spoke to an important truth.  Too often as Christians we trust You, LORD God for personal spiritual and moral guidance but we forget to trust You for the Big Things - for what You are doing in the world at large and how we play a part in it.  Pastor based his sermon on Jonah and spoke how this was Jonah's problem.  He, Jonah, only wanted what You, LORD God could do in his own personal life, not what You could do for others - like the pagan Ninevites!

LORD God, You are God of everything and everyone.  Help me to not focus on just myself, but on the World for You are God of all of it.  You want everyone to come to You.  You care about even the little sparrows. (Luke 12:6)

Help me in my prayer time to push beyond my own immediate world, to pray for the many out there who need you and your help.  Help me to cast my mind out beyond my own immediate circumstances.

Your grace and love saved me! Of this I am thankful.  I pray that I will have this kind of confidence in You that Habakkuk has in his prayer.

Love this song we sang in church.  It is so beautiful and speaks such truth.  


"Are you hurting and broken within
Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin
Jesus is calling

Have you come to the end of yourself
Do you thirst for a drink from the well
Jesus is calling"

Come To The Altar by Chris Brown

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

It Will Surely Come . . .

Reading:  Habakkuk 2
My Verse:  "For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
                       it hastens to the end - it will  not lie.
                   If it seems slow, wait for it;
                       it will surely come; it will not delay" (Habakkuk 2:3).

How often, LORD God, do You remind us of this all important event - Your return and eventual punishment of all those who refuse to acknowledge You as the sovereign LORD God?

It is so easy to become careless about Your timing.  We think, we can get away with things when we aren't immediately punished - how wrong we are to think that way.  Your timing is always right.  It is an appointed time - a time that You have chosen and set.

There are times when we feel the wait is overlong - we weary of the pain and misery we see around us and long for You, for Your return.  Yet, You tell us here we are to "wait for it; it will surely come."

I like the phrase "it will not delay."  The Amplified says it this way "it will not be behindhand on its appointed day."  Basically, there is no stopping this event from happening because You, the sovereign LORD God  have set the time of punishment for those who stay in their rebellion and the redemption of those who claim You as their LORD.

Hebrews 10:37 (AMP) says it this way.

"For still a little while (a very little while),
     and the Coming One will come
     and He will not delay."

Later in the chapter, after very specifically spelling out all the terrible crimes of the wicked You say this to Habakkuk.

But [the time is coming when]
     the earth shall be filled with the knowledge 
     of the glory
     of the LORD
     as the waters cover the sea"  (Habakkuk 2:14 AMP).

Isaiah 11:9(ESV) says this very thing.

"They shall not hurt or destroy 
     in all my holy mountain;
     for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
        as the waters cover the sea."

Your knowledge changes everything!  It is transforming!  It removes the scales from our eyes and we (all) will see that You are indeed, the LORD God!

"Turn to me and be saved,
     all the ends of the earth!
     For I am God, and there is no other.

 By myself I have sworn;
     from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
     a word that shall not return:

     To me every knee shall bow,
        and every tongue shall swear allegiance" (Isaiah 45:22,23).

Paul repeated these very words in Romans 14:11,12.

"As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to me,
     and every tongue shall confess to God

   So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."

The Bible starts off with Genesis 1:1 saying "In the beginning . . ."
The last book, Revelation 22:20 says,
     "He who testifies to this things says,
          Surely, I am coming soon."
      Amen. 
      Come, LORD Jesus!"

This day You speak of, LORD God, "will surely come . . ."

Our God is Coming

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Wonder and Be Astounded!

Reading:  Habakkuk 1
My Verse:  "Look among the nations, and see;
                       wonder and be astounded.
                   For I am doing a work in your days
                       that you would not believe if told" (Habakkuk 1:4).

You, LORD God, spoke this to Habakkuk but Your Word was recorded for all of us,

    "these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
        the Son of God,
        and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31)

and

     "All Scripture is breathed out by God
         and profitable for teaching,
         for reproof,
         for correction,
         and for training in righteousness . . ." (2 Timothy 3:17).

so you speak these words to us as well.

I read an article that spoke of how there is a whole swirl of spiritual activity going on about us that we are totally unaware of - activity that we "would not believe."  We cannot even imagine it!  And yet You do give us glimpses of this activity in the Bible.

We are told of this interaction between man and the spiritual world in Genesis 3 when Lucifer takes the form of a serpent to tempt Eve.

We are told of angels interacting with man  in the Old Testament.  (Genesis 19, Daniel 10)

Paul speaks in the New Testament of the spiritual realm as factual and very real.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
     but against principalities, against powers,
     against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
     against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

John speaks extensively of this in 1 John and Revelation.   These final books of the Bible state that the physical world as we know it will "pass away" and we will all be in the spiritual realm.

"For all that is in the world 
   -the desires of the flesh,
    the desires of the eyes,
    and the pride life
   - is not from the Father but from the world.

The world is passing away along with its desires,
   but whoever does the will of God remains forever" (1 John 2:16,17).

Thank You, LORD God for this reminder that You are working behind the scenes, so to speak.  You are a loving God and are looking out for those that belong to You.  You are also patient, giving more time to those many that still need You.

There is much I do not understand.  I know there is much I would not believe even if told,  but I do know You love me and watch over me.

"The LORD will protect you from all evil;
   He will keep you soul.

 The LORD will guard your going out 
   and your coming in
   From this time forth and forevermore" (Psalm 121:8).

Yes, You are a sovereign God!  We have no idea of all the amazing things You are doing to preserve your own, bring more to You and carry out Your most wonderful and divine purposes.

"The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
     and his kingdom rules over all" (Psalm 103:19).

Thank You, LORD God for all that You do for me!
Thank You, for Who You are - the Almighty Sovereign God!

He Reigns

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

God Knows HIs Own & Avenges the Wrongs Done To Them!

Reading:  Nahum 1 - 3
My Verse:  "The LORD is good, 
                       a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble;
                       He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands)
                       those who take refuge and trust in Him" (Nahum 1:7 AMP).

Love this, how You, LORD God, know those who belong to You.  Amongst all the millions of people here on this earth, You know each one that belongs to You!

Here Nahum speaks of the vastness of Your wrath against those who refuse to acknowledge You, as LORD God.  You are a God of love and forgiveness.  You are patient.  But You will not allow the guilty to get away with their unrepentant sin.

My devotional today spoke of how we are all of us wronged at some time or other, often seriously wronged by someone who has never apologized or done reparation.  Sometimes the wrong feels so very wrong we don't want to forgive, we want the person wronging us to suffer in some way.  But this is not our place.  While our LORD God is a God of love He is also a God of vengeful wrath when it comes to dealing with unrepentant sinners.

"The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
   the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
   the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
   and keeps wrath for his enemies.

The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
   and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty." (Nahum 1:2,3)

"Beloved, never avenge yourselves,
     but leave it to the wrath of God,
     for it is written,
   'Vengeance is mine,
    I will repay,
    says the LORD." (Romans 12:19)

Yes, You, LORD God, do know those who belong to You!  You know when we are hurt and wronged.  You will not let that go unpunished.  We need to give that hurt and wrong to You and allow You to do what You deem to be best.  And woe to anyone who hurts Yours and refuses to repent.

"His way is in the whirlwind and storm,
   and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
   he dries up all the rivers . . . 

The mountains quake before Him;
   the hills melt;
   the earth heaves before him,
   the world and all who dwell in it.

Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of His anger?"  (Nahum 1:3-6).

I, for one, would not want to stand before Your wrath, LORD God!  Thank you for this reminder that even though it is You who created us, and it is only because of You that we are able to love because You are the author of love, You are also a God of wrath - wrath that we cannot even imagine.  And You will avenge all the wrongs done to those who belong to You!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

What Shall I Bring to God?

Reading:  Micah 3 - 7
My Verse:  "With what shall I come before the LORD,
                          and bow myself before God on high?
                     . . .
                     He has told you, O man, what is good;
                          and what does the LORD require of you
                          but to do justice, and to love kindness,
                          and to walk humbly with your God?"  (Micah 6:6, 8).

What can I bring to You, LORD God?

I like how John Piper addressed this question.

"When the psalmist cried out, "What shall I render to the Lord for all of his benefits to me?" the reply was, "I will lift the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalm 116:12-13). So, translating that into Christmas: Jesus gives us the gift of himself and we ask, "Now what can I render to Jesus for all the benefits of his fellowship?" Answer: Ask him for his help. That's the gift he wants. . . .

. . . the only gifts that we can bring Jesus are gifts of praise, thanks, longing, and neediness."

We live in such a crazy time - at least it seems so as we keep waking up to yet another great tragedy.  The hurt and confusion we live in seems insurmountable.  It is easy to allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by all the sin in the world, all the pain and sadness.

But You promise us, LORD God that You, ". . .will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5).

David, that great king and warrior, believed this promise.  I love spending time in the Psalms because David speaks to our pain and  despair because he suffered that as well.  Yet through it all he was able to say;

 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)

We live in a fallen world that seems to keep spiraling into further darkness.  You, LORD God, cannot spare us from pain, You never promised that but You did promise to keep us through the pain.  

Thank you, for this reminder.  This reminder that I need to keep Your promises in mind always.  I need to praise You for Who You are - the LORD God Almighty, creator of all that is.  I need to give you my thanks for the gift of salvation.   I need to long for you, for Your love, Your fellowship, Your goodness.  I need to allow that I am poor and needy, and only You can meet me in my neediness!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!