Almost daily I receive short devotionals by various pastor friends from all around the nation, and just the other day, Rev. Barry Epps of Still Waters Baptist Church near Columbia, South Carolina sent me just a snippet of the blog below. I don't know why, but that day his words in particular caught my attention and really blessed my heart. I asked him to expound on his short thought for the day and allow me to share what he wrote on my blog.
I'm sure you will be blessed. Thank you friend for your encouragement, in the days gone by, right now, and far into the future I'm sure.
What started out as a reflection on the psychological benefits of the 'green space' that is all around us, referencing Isaiah 35:1-4, eventually the Holy Spirit led me to the powerful Book of Habakkuk.
Rather than focusing on Isaiah 35:1 from the devotion, I was drawn to verses 3 and 4, “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you” [NKJ].”
Weak hands and feeble knees resonated truth to me because of the current state of unrest that our nation is experiencing with multiple headlines that paint a dreary picture of death and division. We are tired. Drained from the daily rhetoric, wondering what else could go wrong with our world. But hope comes with the last phrase of verse 4, “He will save you.”
I am a relatively optimistic guy. My life verse is Romans 8:28, and I believe that when it says “all things”, it means all things - the obvious good things as well as the seemingly bad things. That's where Habakkuk comes into the picture.
My recent Bible research surfing brought me to a website that asserted that the Book of Isaiah is a footnote for the Bible with 66 chapters which parallels the 66 Books of the Bible. Further research showed a complicated comparison that did not seem consistent with their declaration, but this little endeavor did send me to the book of Habakkuk.
Using their system Habakkuk being the 35th Book of the Bible should be a good comparison to my devotional in Isaiah 35, so I journeyed down this road. Habakkuk's name can be translated, “to embrace.” In him I saw this burdened prophet as one who “embraces” God and longs for understanding and hope amidst the dreary 'headlines' of the day. I would later read the entire book, but initially I deeply focused on Habakkuk 1:5, searching for parallels to the word that I had received in Isaiah 35. "Look at the nations and watch -- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told [NIV].”
Wow! After we 'watch' we will be utterly amazed. Habakkuk asked his question and God said that 'He' was raising up the Chaldeans. The application for today is that I (or we) don't have to try and fix things. God has it handled. It has to run its course and then we will see the purpose of 'all things.' So, what are we supposed to do? If we are not supposed to fix everything then how do we occupy ourselves?
We can turn to Jeremiah 29:4-7 for the answer, we build houses, plant gardens, get married, raise children... “be increased and not diminished.” We are to seek the peace of the city and, in the midst of confusion and conflicting advice (false prophets), peace can only be found in Jesus and Kingdom work.
Judah was about to be conquered by Babylon, everything looked hopeless, but the Lord encouraged Habakkuk to watch and be amazed. The Lord is always working around us to help us and to care for us. Even in our turmoil, today, with upcoming elections, COVID 19, personal trials and everything else...prepare to be amazed! Read this short book and be encouraged in the midst of 'all things.'
Pastor Barry Epps
No comments:
Post a Comment