I emailed Aaron today and asked him to give me some scripture ideas. He wrote back telling me that he couldn't think of any off the top of his head, but to look up despair and hope in the back of my bible. Under despair were several bible verses. The 11th one was Habakkuk 3:17-18. Of course, while I was reading it I was outside with 2 of our children and sidetracked with their antics. I closed my bible and headed inside to clean, wash up, start dinner, get Maggie up from her nap, etc. After our evening routine, getting Max's class snack together, cleaning up the kitchen, and reading a little bit I headed upstairs to continue on with my homework for Beth Moore's Esther bible study. Aaron and I began chatting again about this nagging question and where is the answer? Should I email our pastor back in Michigan and ask his thoughts on it? Then I remembered the verse I had found earlier in the day and I read it Aaron. I then read the notes at the bottom of the page. "Amen." was Aaron's response.
The following is what I found. I found that I didn't need to ask Aaron (although God worked thru him to lead me to Habakkuk) and I didn't need to email our Pastor (although I will still probably do that because God does His work through him too).
All I needed to do was to be in The Word.
This is all from the Life Application Study Bible (NIV).
"When Habakkuk was troubled, he brought his concerns directly to God. After receiving God's answers, he responded with a prayer of faith. Habakkuk's example is one that should encourage us as we struggle to move from doubt to faith. We don't have to be afraid to ask questions of God. The problem is not with God and His ways but with our limited understanding of Him."
"The purpose of Habakkuk is to show that God is still in control fo the world despite the apparent triumph of evil."
"God wants us to come to Him with our struggles and doubts. His answers may not be what we expect, however. God sustains us by revealing himself to us. Trusting him leads to quiet hope, not bitter resignation."
"God is the Creator; He is all-powerful. He has a plan and He will carry it out. He will punish sin. He is our strength and our place of safety. We can have confidence that He will love us and guard our relationship with Him forever. "
"Hope means going beyond our unpleasant daily experiences to the joy of knowing God. We live by trusting in Him, not by the benefits, happiness, or success we may experience in this life. Our hope comes from God."
Habakkuk's complaint in Chapter 1 Verse 3:
"Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds."
The Lord answers in v. 5:
"Look at the nations and watch -
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."
Habbakkuk's second complaint in 1:13:
"Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrong.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
(v.2:1) "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what He will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint."
And the Lord responds: ( I love this!)
v. 2:3......
"For the revelation awaits an apppointed time:
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
It will certainly come and will not delay."
This is one of my new favorite verses. Here is what the notes added:
"Like Habakkuk, Christians often feel angry and discouraged as they see what goes on. God's answer to Habakkuk is the same answer He would give us. "Be patient! I will work out my plans in my perfect timing. To trust God fully means to trust Him even when we don't understand why events occur as they do."
Now finally to the verses that Aaron brought to me today thorough our Lord Jesus Christ:
v. 3:17-19
"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."
Now from the notes (oh there are so many fabulous things hidden in those notes!)
"Crop failure and the death of animals would devastate. But Habakkuk affirmed that even in the times of starvation and loss, he would still rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk's feelings were not controlled by the events around him but by faith in God's ability to give him strength. When nothing makes sense God gives strength. When nothing makes sense, and when troubles seem more than you can bear, remember that God gives strenth. Take your eyes off your difficulties and look to God. "
"God will give his followers surefooted confidence through difficult times. They will run like deer across rough and dangerous terrain. At the proper time, God will bring about his justice and completely rid the world of evil. In the meantime, God's people need to live in the strength of his Spirit, confident in His ultimate victory over evil."
"Habakkuk had asked God why evil people prosper while the righteous suffer. God's answer: they don't, not in the long run. Habakkuk saw his own limitations in contrast to God's unlimited control of all the world's events. God is alive and in control of the world and its events. We cannot see all that God is doing, and we cannot see all that God will do. But we can be assured that He is God and will do what is right. Knowing this can give us confidence and hope in a confusing world."
