Do you ever look around and see the chaos in our world today and wonder where is God?
There are a variety of issues that we have all been touched by personally and it seems that evil has infiltrated the smallest fiber of our world. We often wonder where God is in all of this? Is He listening and does He hear our prayers?
A few years ago during the economic downfall of 2008 my husband and I were going through a very difficult season. I was in real estate and my husband in the home building business. You could say that we had all of our “eggs in one basket!” It was a rough time for us and forced me to my knees in search of hope. The difficulty went on for years and I can remember crying out to God asking “Where are you and are you hearing my prayer?” That’s when the Lord answered me directly.
I can remember the place I was standing when the words were impressed in my heart to “Read Habakkuk.”
I can tell you that Habakkuk was not in my general vocabulary and I don’t remember ever reading that book of the bible in the past. I had to look up where the book was located in His Word.
As I turned to the pages of the book of Habakkuk I found the first words jumping off the page in direct answer to my prayer. Habakkuk 1:2 “How long, O Lord will I call for help, and You will not Hear? I Cry out to You….” As I read through the book of Habakkuk that morning, I realized that the Lord DOES hear our prayers. He had heard my prayer and directed me to another who came before me asking the same thing. I was not alone, how many of you feel that same way? You pray and pray for change and wonder if the Lord is listening?
I can tell you that He does hear our prayers!
Look at what happened as Habakkuk prayed.
Habakkuk questioned how long would he have to endure the rampant evil that was overtaking his home land of Judah? God remained silent for a while but in His sovereignty answered him. God explained that He has a plan and that a correction will be made to the people for their evil ways. The thing that stood out to me was that God was in control and He told Habakkuk that there was a way to make it through the difficult time. He said “But the righteous will live by his faith.” Hab 2:4.
God is working in our world today!
As you and I live out our faith, God is working out His justice. We may not always understand His ways as they are not our ways, but He is working! Isaiah 55:8-9 He wants us to be faithful to Him and don’t give up hope!
God had my husband and I in the palm of his hand during that time and our circumstances turned for the better. In the end we did make it through those difficult years with a stronger faith! It has taught me that the best way to fight your battles is on your knees and God is listening to you and I as we seek Him. He working even when you don’t know what the plan is!
As Habakkuk realized that God was in control, he turned his prayer into praise. Habakkuk knew that he could rest in Him and give God praise in the circumstances. 1 Thes 5:18
Can you give praise to God today for your circumstances and let Him do the work in restoring your life and the world around us?
Don’t give up hope, keep the faith and give Him praise!