Hab. 3:17-19
No figs on the tree
No fruit on the vine
No olives produced
No food in the fields
No flock in the fold
No herd in the stalls
Yet
I will rejoice in the LORD
I will take joy in my GOD
The LORD is my strength
He makes my feel like the deer's.
He makes me tread on high places
where I thought I could never go.
In 66 Love Letters, Crabb says *this* about Habakkuk:
Never let your struggle with how you experience God or
with how God operates in your life
keep you from *waiting* for God to deliver what He has promised.
You know, I have eyes to see the evil that prospers and not want it.
That's good,
but too often, I shift my focus to what is God doing about these problems in all of our lives. I am in the middle of one that no one knows what to do about it! I am questioning The Almighty! And God just silenced me when I read: Hab 2:2 ~ Wait for the Vision! If God's Vision seems to delay, wait for Him. Either you wait or you will try to manage the problems by what you think is best. This is God's timetable not mine. The Vision for which you weep awaits.
"Only those who struggle in confusion and wait in hope will be strengthened to struggle well and to wait with confidence." Larry Crabb
That powerful "YET" in today's reading reminds me of Job. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
ReplyDeleteJesus is found in the sparse places. Whatever the reason for the wait, we know He meets us in it. Maybe it's something that still needs to die within us. Maybe it's to His Glory that we learn to wait. Maybe it's PERFECT timing though it feels so long.
Lord, we do not know, but Thou knowest.
And we trust You in Your mercy, not to tarry one second longer than is necessary to answer our prayers and save us from our suffering.
And we trust You to teach us the beauty of wonder that is found in waiting.
And we know the One in Whom we trust will be our Guide as we proceed. Show us Your Ways that bring Life and Joy and Peace. Even in the wait...
I wonder Annette if what I am waiting for is not on God's Plan A. I want be at my daughter's wedding to give her away. I want to be at my son's graduation from Law School. Why do I make these milestones my vision? What about learning to live a quiet life of love. Too many of my problems surrounds what people will think of me if I'm not successful, not fill-in-the-blank. I am not happy with myself at the moment. Oh, the arrogance --- to think I can get this right.
ReplyDeleteWell, God's Plan A might not be our Plan A I am sure. But if we're asking to align our hearts to His Will, won't our heart's desires align with His, and the plans become unified to His Will? I don't think it's wrong to want to be at your child's graduation or walk your daughter down the aisle. Would it be okay to learn to live a quiet life of love AND want to see your child's milestone? I guess it all comes down to our heart's motive.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is for sure--we want to get it right--maybe for the wrong reasons, maybe out of obedience. It might be arrogance to think we can get it right, but it might not be. With God, all things are possible. God has a tight hold of your heart right now Bev. Your sorrow is over the same things that grieve Him. That must please Him. Lay this out before Him. He will surely answer and your heart is so beautifully broken for the right reasons...