Right before I got accepted into The World Race, I was obsessed with the minor prophet of Habakkuk. I sat in a coffee shop for hours and wasn’t able to stop finding out more and more about who this guy was. Habakkuk was alarmed by the wickedness of his people, the nation of Judah. He longed for the day when the Lord would bring justice to his nation by punishing sin. He was even more troubled, however, when he learned that the Lord would indeed judge Judah but that he would use the much more wicked nation of Babylon to do so. The book of Habakkuk records the prophet’s conversation with God about this issue that we still face today.
The book of Habakkuk has two main themes in the three short chapters:
The first being God is merciful and just even though His people may not always be. This is said in Hab. 2:4, “Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by His faith.”. Since we are human, we are bound to sin and He is well aware of this. Even in the midst of our sin, He forgives. He forgives us when we have no right to be forgiven because He loves us
The second point being wickedness will eventually be punished and, the righteous will ultimately see God’s justice. This is basically what the rest of the book is on…
Anyways, I figured out why I loved this book so much. This answers such a complex question that is constantly asked by both believers and non-believers. Habakkuk realized that though he did not understand God’s timing, he could not doubt God’s wisdom, love or reliability. He realized that no matter how bad things got, it was all in the Lord’s timing and best interest.
Habakkuk 2:14 reads, “For the knowledge of the Lord will cover the Earth as the waters cover the sea.”. I read this and was drawn into what I didn’t realize would become such an adoration. This huge question of doubt was completely obliterated by a three chaptered book, a minor prophet, and the reminder that no matter how tough parts of my life get, I need to count on the Lord and His perfect timing.
This is the reason this verse is plastered all over my fundraising shirts. I opened a box of 34 blue and red shirts and was reminded of why I’m giving 9 months of my life solely to the Lord. No matter how big my doubt or fear, the Lord is a billion times bigger.
All in all, the Lord is the coolest and uses shirts as a reaffirmation of His love. What a good dude.
