Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
911 and Habakkuk
The Sunday after 9-11, I remember very well. I laid on the floor in my office during Bible class with my back causing major issues. I needed help getting dressed that day I was in so much pain. I prayed and prayed that I would be able to preach because I felt a deep need to serve people I loved and my God during this traumatic time. My sermon was on Habakkuk.
Habakkuk is my favorite Minor Prophet and I think one of the most philosophically practical. It is a book of doubt, confusion, questions, and a solution that is one of the most quoted passages in the NT – “the righteous shall live by faith.”
The end of the book sees Habakkuk still confused, but living by faith. It taught me more clearly what that means. Listen with your heart to what the song/prayer says: “I heard, and I trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress to come against the people invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The LORD my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!” (CSB’17 Habakkuk 3:16-19).
1. Living by faith is trusting and accepting, even when not understanding.
2. Living by faith focuses on the future while experiencing the present, even when unpleasant.
3. Living by faith is comforting, even when not comfortable.
4. Living by faith means celebrating God, even when suffering and uncertain.
These are lessons we still need to remember well.
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