Coffee With The Lord

“THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!” (Habakkuk 2.4) Watchword of the Reformation and favorite theme of Apostle Paul (check out Romans 1.17; Galatians 3.11; and also Hebrews 11.38).  The phrase was used in those passages to describe how a person is “justified” (becomes “right with God”).  An important, essential, God-inspired truth to be sure!

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ORIGINAL CONTEXT?  What was the significance to the first audience?

I’d like to suggest that the message delivered to Habakkuk was a very practical one for a righteous person who had a lot of questions… The force of the message to Habakkuk?  “Hang in there!  Trust God when you don’t understand!  Live every day of your live by faith!  God will work everything out in the end!”

Here’s how the train of thought develops in Habakkuk…

Habakkuk, the prophet, cries out… “How long, Lord must I call for help but You do not listen?  I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ but You do not save!  Why do you make me look at injustice?  Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? …“Lord are you not from everlasting?  My God, my Holy One, You will never die! … Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.  Why then do You tolerate the treacherous?  Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?! …

“Then the Lord replied:  ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.  For the revelation awaits an appointed 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!  See the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – BUT the righteous person will live by his faith!’” (Habakkuk 1.2-3, 12-13; 2.1-4)

It’s the message of Hebrews 11 all over again!  Faith sustains!  Faith in God has the power to support you and help you through when you don’t understand (and even when things seem unfair).  There are a lot of things today I don’t understand… Things that don’t seem fair… Think I’m going to continue to trust God!!

During “Coffee with the Lord” today  I was reminded of an important Spiritual leadership lesson (an important lesson for those who would speak “prophetically” as having “a word from the Lord”)…

We need to be careful when we venture to speak for God – when on His behalf and in His Name, we deliver a message to others that “seems right” to us… Nathan, the prophet, made this mistake with David the king, and God corrected him for it.  Here’s the account of it from the Bible…

“After king David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord is under a tent!’  Nathan replied to David, ‘Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you!’  But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying: ‘Go and tell my servant, David, this is what the Lord says: You are NOT the one to build me a house to dwell in… I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you! … I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons… He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.  I will be his father and he will be my son.’” (From 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 NIV)  

First of all, what David had in mind “seemed right” – and Nathan judged it to be a noble desire!  So he gave a word of affirmation – a word of encouragement that seemed appropriate… the problem was, it wasn’t what God had in mind!

It seems to me, therefore, before I venture to “speak for the Lord,” I should pause and listen and seek to find out what the Lord desires to say – what He has in mind.  I’m all to ready to “speak for Him” when He may have something else (something even “better”) to communicate.  I’M GOING TO TRY TO DO MORE “LISTENING” – AND AVOID PRESUMPTUOUS SPEAKING (especially when “speaking for the Lord”)!

I just finished writing a “final test” for a course I’m teaching at SAGU.  Got some students who are in “deep anxiety” over the prospects of taking it and doing well!  Final tests always become an object of concern for students who care… They’ll review their notes, go over the text, listen for clues for the exam from the prof, and engage in long nights of study for the “big day!”

But this morning during my devotional time that I call “coffee with the Lord” I read of another “test” that has my attention… Here is what the inspired writer had to say about it…

“Blessed is the person who remains steadfast under trial, FOR WHEN HE HAS STOOD THE TEST he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (From James 1:12 ESV)

This is what I jotted in the margin of my Bible after read that this morning: “Help me Lord – strengthen me, fortify my resolve, may I prepare myself with the resources You provide, help me withstand the temptation of giving into trials, may I stand true and strong for You under pressure!  I want to receive ‘the crown of life’ at the end of my journey – my ‘personal final text!’”