Violence, injustice, toleration of wrong, destruction, strife, conflict. Those are the words that the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk used to describe the world around him. It was about 600 BC and Habakkuk saw people who were mistreating and taking advantage of one another, people who thought that violence was the solution to conflict, a society that tolerated what God said was wrong. He saw strife in families and communities. Injustice was running rampant as people seemed to do whatever they wanted with little to no consequence. But in Habakkuk’s mind the worst part about it was that the Lord didn’t seem to be doing anything to stop. It almost seemed like God didn’t care. You heard Habakkuk’s complaint to the Lord in the opening verse, “How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” (Habakkuk 1:1). Where was the Lord in all of this? Was the Lord going to just let the wicked get away with this while the few faithful followers of the Lord suffered and struggled?
Sound familiar? Violence, injustice, toleration of wrong, destruction, strife, conflict. Ever seen that? Just look around us. Sometimes I’m almost afraid to see what headline pops up next on my phone. Another shooting at a mall or a school, a suicide bomber in a Middle Eastern market place or European airport, another city rioting and causing senseless destruction. Conflict and strife in families when parents care more about themselves than they do about their children. Toleration and pride in sin, and persecution of those who will not promote or participate in it. Don’t you ever find yourself ready to voice the same complaint to the Lord as Habakkuk did nearly 3000 years ago? Lord, where are you in all of this? Aren’t you going to do something? Are you really going to let the wicked get away with this while the seemingly few faithful followers of the Lord like us struggle and suffer?
What was the Lord’s answer to Habakkuk? “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 be proved false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay…the righteous will live by his faith’” (Habakkuk 2:2-4). Simply put the Lord told Habakkuk three things: wait, be patient and trust me. The Lord was aware of all that was taking place and he would deal with it in his own time and in his own way. Habakkuk and his fellow believers were simply to wait, be patient and to trust the Lord – or as the Lord says to Habakkuk, “The righteous will live by his faith.” God calls his people to live by faith, that is, to trust him.
And that’s the Lord’s answer to our complaints as well. The Lord turns says to us, “Wait, be patient and trust me.” But are you satisfied with that answer? Aren’t there times when we hear the Lord’s answer and think, “That’s not good enough! Sorry, God, you’re going to have to do better than that. I need details, not just a ‘trust me.’ I need answers for why and how and when and…” Why do we have such a hard time accepting God’s simple answer of, “Wait, be patient and trust me?” I think it has a lot to do with what we heard in the other two Bible readings this morning.
Do you remember what the second lesson from Romans 6 called Christians? We are called “slaves to righteousness.” And in the final part of the gospel lesson from Luke 17 Jesus calls us “servants.” Doesn’t that make you a bit uncomfortable? A slave or a servant does not have much control. They are told by someone else what to do and they are expected to do it. We are called to serve the Lord and to do what he says is right. And when we hear that, there is a part of me that says I don’t want to be a slave or a servant. My sinful nature and humanistic ego does not want for someone else to tell me what to do, to allow someone else to be in control of my life. We would rather look at what God says in his Word and say, “God, thanks for the suggestions, but finally I’m going to do what I believe is best for me.” The Lord tells us to wait patiently and we are quick to throw up our hands and say, “Sorry, God, you’re just taking too long. I’ve got a much quicker way to get what I want.” We look at what God asks us to do and we say, “Sorry God, that’s just not going to work for me. I’ve got a better way.” The Lord’s, “Wait! Be patient! Trust me!” goes against every fiber of our human nature because it means that we’re going to allow someone else to be in control.
Still, the Lord calls to us, “The righteous will live by his faith.” The Lord pleads with us, “Trust me!” And our faith responds by looking to the Lord and saying, “Oh yeah. Who better to trust?” Our God certainly has the power to do everything that he has promised. His creation of the world and his resurrection from the dead are unprecedented displays of his power. The Lord’s perspective is far superior to ours. While my decisions are limited by past and present experiences and best guesses about the future, God sees all of history, past, present and the future all at once. He can truly know what is best for me not only for today, but also for tomorrow and for eternity. The Lord’s record of faithfulness is one that is truly unparalleled. Even when it looks highly improbable that the Lord can carry through on what he has promised he still always comes through. Just ask the nation of Israel who stood at the edge of the Red Sea as an angry Egyptian army was quickly closing in on them, and it appeared that God’s people were about to be obliterated. Or think of the disciples who saw Jesus’ lifeless body taken from the cross and placed in a grave where people normally did not come back to life. The Lord’s promises of rescue and resurrection may have seemed highly unlikely to those people. Yet, the Lord did exactly as he had promised, parting the waters of the Red Sea and raising Jesus back to life. The Lord is honest with us. He doesn’t ignore the realities of our world or sugar-coat them. He does not belittle the suffering, the sadness, the heartache that enters our lives. Instead, he tells us that he will safely bring us through them and at his perfect time deliver us from them completely.
And why can we trust him? For the Christian it always goes back to the cross – to the greatest demonstration of love that you have ever experienced. It is there that God took stubborn and rebellious sinners, people who have defiantly questioned his wisdom and his ways, doubted his timing and his plans, and blindly followed the ways of the devil foolishly thinking that they were our own – yes, God took us and at the cross he made us not merely friends, but members of his family. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God took the sin that by nature shackles us to Satan and would have dragged us away from God for eternity, and God took our sin upon himself. Jesus allowed himself to be dragged away to hell instead of us, to give his life in our place. On that day, the shackles of sin were replaced with the freedom of Jesus’ perfect life. On that day, punishment for sin was replaced with the peace of sins forgiven. On that day, a master hell bent on bringing you eternal destruction was replaced by a heavenly Father who gives only what he knows is truly best for you. Yes, we are now servants of our Savior. Yes, we are slaves to righteousness, our thoughts, words and actions controlled and guided by a God whose faithfulness, forgiveness, and love we can always count on, someone we can completely trust.
So, what is the Lord calling you to do that is especially requiring of your faith and trust in him? A relationship with a spouse that you continue to work at even though it doesn’t seem to be getting any better? One medical test after another without any answers? Frustration as you watch a co-worker who seems to be getting away with unethical practices? Do you look at your life or the world around you and feel like voicing Habakkuk’s complaint, “How long Lord? Why don’t you do something, God?” Go ahead and ask the questions, but then be sure to listen to the Lord’s answer. “Wait! Be patient! Trust me!” Be reminded of who your God is, what he has done for you, and who he has made you, dear child of God.
I’ve spent a lot of time in hospital waiting rooms both with other people’s families and my own. I remember specifically one day where I spent 14 hours in the surgery waiting room. My wife and I started at 6:30 am. We watched people come in and leave throughout the day. By 5:00 pm we were the only ones left beside the volunteer who answered the phone and she said that she was sorry but she had to leave. We sat there for another three hours. At 8:00 pm the surgery was completed and we got to go see our little patient. It was a long, hard day. You know what made it so hard? Watching other people whose wait was so short. They barely sat down and then they left. Then there was the not knowing exactly how long the surgery was going to take. But the very hardest part was not knowing for certain what the outcome of that surgery was going to be.
Dear friends, the Lord tells you what the final outcome is going to be for you and all of his people, and it is the very best one. The wait may seem long and it may be hard at times, but the Lord promises that one day the wait will be over, the problems will be no more and we will be with Jesus and all our fellow Christians. That’s a wait that is definitely worth it. Amen.
