- Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. Habakkuk 1:3 – What we have with Habakkuk is a prophet of the Lord coming to his God and being real with Him. Habakkuk didn’t understand what he was seeing and felt the Lord wasn’t moving in the lives of His people like He promised. Here Habakkuk asks the Lord why He is making the prophet see such evils all around him yet seemingly no justice being made over them. Destruction, violence, strife, and contention, all were things ever present around him and were such things the Lord seemed to be idle in addressing. Likely this is a thought you’ve had too, why God are you allowing such evils around me to go undealt with? Why are you letting me see such evils all around? I think about this past weekend I had the opportunity to hand out Christmas gifts to the inmates at the Eldoardo Correctional Facility. You want a place where evils just seem to go unchecked…go to a prison. While yes behind bars, there is still so much sin that takes place there and so much evil that goes seemingly unchecked. I can find myself asking the prophet’s question, why God are you letting me see all this evil? I love a Spurgeon answer to this question, “We need to know more of the evil men, to make us more earnest in seeking their salvation.” When our eyes see the corruption of the world, it ought to break our hearts, but it also ought to stir within us a passion for the lost world to know Jesus. For jail cells and our hands aren’t what is going to change the world, only Jesus can do that. Be willing to open your eyes to see the evil and let is stoke the fires under you to be a sharer of the good news that will destroy those evils your eyes see. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3313
- Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. Habakkuk 1:5 – Believe this to be true. Yes, this was written over 2000 years ago and was speaking of the sinfulness that was going unchecked in Judah. That God was working in ways that Habakkuk wouldn’t even believe if told. Yet while this wasn’t directed at our story, the message still is true today. God is working. He is moving in ways that if told to us would overwhelm us. He is not only working today for today, but what He is doing is prepping things for ages to come. So yes, if our eyes stay glued to the news or Facebook headlines, I can easily see why we could begin to think God has stopped acting and working. But as in the verse, look among the nations. Look at what God has been doing in the lives of the people around you. Just look and you’ll see over and over again that His hands are still creating and moving within our story. God hasn’t let up in His work within our lives. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1414
- You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? Habakkuk 1:13 – Habakkuk is a conversation between the prophet and The Lord. The prophet sees the sinfulness of his people and brings it before the Lord. What confuses the prophet is that God’s plan to handle the sinfulness is to bring an even more sinful nation to take them over. Has God’s response to a issue in your story ever confused you? We ask why God, in His ability to do anything He wants, why He would move in such a way that seems to us to create even more of a problem. In this, just like the prophet is called to, we must trust the Lord. Moves God will make won’t always makes sense to us because we don’t see the picture God sees. When we find ourselves in a season like this, choose to trust the Lord. He really does know what He is doing and He’s navigated even more difficult things with His people before. Lean more into prayer to seek out clarity on why God is moving in the ways He is, but even when that clarity doesn’t come remain faithful the the path He’s called you to. God is good and He knows what He is doing. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2102
Daily DEVO 