- Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4 – We have a verse here that is one of the most quoted in the New Testament…the righteous shall live by his faith. In our chapter we see the Lord responding to Habakkuk’s reasonable question of why would God use such a sinful nation like Babylon to judge Israel. In short, God’s answer was that He saw Babylon’s sin, and while yes He was using Babylon to address Israel’s sin, He would address Babylon’s sin. Babylon was filled with pride, with violence, with greed, with drunkenness, and with idolatry…and that’s just what we learn from this single chapter. Yet lives devoted to such things would not provide them the glory and life they so desired. There is only one pathway to life and that’s through a faith in the Lord. That’s the truth displayed to us in our verse, the righteous shall live by faith. The unholy will not live through their pride or through their idolatry. That’s not the road to life, only through a faith in the Lord can anyone find life. Yet let’s go another step, scripture also doesn’t say that the righteous shall live by his church attendance, or his end or the year giving amount, or even how large his Bible streak on YouVersion is. Eternal life is not found in unholy things like greed or idols, nor is eternal life found in holy things like going to church or sacrifices. We live by faith in Jesus alone. We are made right with God only by placing our complete confidence in Jesus’ power and holiness to save us. Let’s be forever grateful that close to 2000 years ago a Savior was born so we could live by faith in Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3314
- What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Habakkuk 2:18-20 – This passage speaks to the things an idol can’t do within our story. It can’t speak to us, can’t teach us the ways to go, or can’t breathe into our life like we need it to. All that and more is something God can and will do within our story. For even those of us who have been following Jesus faithfully for years we need to keep a constant check that it’s Jesus we’re following exclusively. Sometimes we can look for a voice or breath into our lives from something else. That could look like an old mindset we haven’t discarded fully or even a new one that is trying to be what guides our thoughts. Many other things could seek to take that role too, so be sure to wake each day and choose Jesus as the focal point of your worship. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1415
- For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3 – What God has said will take place we can be sure will take place. In Habakkuk it’s the coming judgement on the nation that is being used to give Israel their judgement. In your story, what is it that you’re still waiting for? God has promised comfort yet it seems to have missed its ride to your story. God has promised strength to deal with the troubles of this life yet that strength isn’t being felt. God has promised a way out but no doors seem to be opening. Trust in this wait time that it is just that, a wait time. A time where you are waiting for something sure to arrive. Whether it’s the judgement we see being spoken of in Habakkuk or your comfort you need in this season, if God has spoken that it will come, it will come. Our God never fails to keep His word to us. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2103
Daily DEVO 