Waiting for an answer.
Two years ago, Elizabeth (my wife) and myself went to the lake district, and after dragging her up a mountain, while she moaned all of the way, we then decided to go for a row on lake Windermere. As when Liz rowed we tended to get a little bit dizzy, I mainly took control of the oars. We only had the boat for a certain time, and so my theory was that if I rowed up the lake for half the time, then I would have enough time to row back down the lake. I started off, and after half an hour of my Steve Redgrave impressions, it was time to turn back. What I hadn’t noticed, was that there was a really strong wind that was getting more and more gusty. The reason I hadn’t noticed was that for the first half of the journey, the wind had been behind me. I suddenly realised that I had to put twice as much effort into going only half the distance. Wanting to impress Liz, I just got stuck in and rowed that little bit harder... As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going... Well sort of.
There was a second thing that I hadn’t counted on, and that was that there was a number of large expensive yachts between myself and my destination. The wind was now getting that strong that it was moving them from side to side and creating quite a nice little slalom course The problem when you are rowing a boat is that you are facing one way, while travelling in the other, and nobody thought of putting a rear view mirror in them. Because of this I had to trust Liz to guide me through. If anybody has witnessed Liz’s navigational skills then you know that she could get lost in an empty room. Eventually, after listening out for her directions, and acting upon them, we eventually made it to our destination.
So often we can find ourselves in situations in our lives where we need direction. The going is getting tough and we desperately need answers, yet instead of God sitting in the boat with us, we can feel that He must be miles away on dry land. I want to talk about a man in the Bible who found himself in that situation, and needed answers from God. I want to find out what he did with those answers.
Introduction to Habakkuk.
Habakkuk was written towards the end of the seventh century BC, when the Babylonians were becoming a mighty nation and Jerusalem was about to fall. It would have probably been just after the last good king of Judah, Josiah, when the nation had now fallen back into his sin. We see Habakkuk despairing at the sinful state around him and questioning what God is going to do about it.
1. Persistence in prayer:
Here we see one of the first things that I want to talk about today, Habakkuk’s persistence in his prayer.
Habakkuk 1:1
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.
2:How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you,
"Violence!" but you do not save?
3: Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and
violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4:Therefore the law is paralysed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the
righteous, so that justice is perverted.
God needs to see what our heart really desires. It is one thing to pray, ’Lord, direct me in your will’, and quite another, to petition God in daily seeking of the answer. We see here that Habakkuk has cried out to God many times and his heart has become more and more burdened. We can pray for the salvation of people, and be discouraged when God does not rush in with his answer. Sometimes God waits until our heart is broken for them. We could be waiting to use a ministry gift, that we know we have but is lying dormant, without the opportunity for it to be used God may be taking you through a training period, but he wants to see that your desire remains the same.
In whatever way that we are seeking direction or an answer from God. He wants to see whether this is really the desire of our hearts.
God then answers. We have to realise that when we are sincere in asking God for an answer. God will always give us one, and show us the right direction. However don’t be surprised if it isn’t always the answer that we want, or even the one that we expect. God answers Habakkuk by telling him that he is raising up the Babylonians in order to punish the sin around him. A nation more sinful than Israel have ever been.
You feel that you haven’t really done much for God, and you may be desperately seeking direction and purpose in your ministry for Him. You can daily ask Him for opportunity to minister for Him and wonder why it doesn’t come. Then God can Give you an answer. ’Mark, you really want to serve me?’ ’Oh yes Lord’, ’Good, then clean the church toilets.’... ’But Lord, I want to be like Billy Graham, or Smith Wigglesworth, I want to do something powerful for you.’ ’Good then clean the toilets.’ Sometimes the answer is not always what we want, but we have to accept that God knows that little bit more than us and accept His direction. Habakkuk finds out later in the book, that this answer, is not His final one. Part of seeking God for an answer is accepting it when it comes. Why pray for it if you can’t accept it.
2. Waiting in the Watch Tower.
Habakkuk isn’t too thrilled about God’s plan, but accepts Gods answer, knowing that God is Holy and Just (ch 1 v12). He asks God how he can allow such an evil nation to punish Israel. This time when he poses his question we see another area of Habakkuks life that allows him to listen to God.
Habakkuk 2:1
I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
Habakkuk goes to the Ramparts to wait for an answer. Most translations use the word watch-tower, but either way the meaning remains the same. The watch tower was a place in military terms, to watch out for the enemy so that they not be able to enter and cause destruction. It was a high place giving a clearer view and without any other distractions. When we spend time seeking God and dwelling in his presence, through prayer, worship, bible reading, and simply being quiet before Him; he takes us up and allows us to see clearer, His will, and how he is working behind the scenes. When I did a parachute jump for my 21st Birthday we got lost finding the airport, Liz’s navigating again. But when I jumped out of the aeroplane I could see for miles in every direction and there wasn’t a thing to distract me. I could see all of the roads where we had gone, and where we should have gone. Here we see that one of the keys to seeking an answer from God is simply to first seek him and patiently wait in his presence We need to put away from us anything that is a distraction.
But there is another thing that God pointed out to me about the watch tower, is that it’s main purpose is not to look out waiting for something good, but instead to guard against the enemy coming in. Throughout the Bible we can see that watch towers were not only built around cities and fortresses, but interestingly they were built around vineyards to watch out for intruders, animal or human. Isaiah 5:2/Mark 12:1. You see the vine is very important in the bible. It represents everything that is Christian, the fruit of the spirit, a symbol of peace and prosperity, and even Jesus Himself, with us as His branches. Jesus used the vine in five of His parables. It was so important that nothing was allowed to get in and destroy or steal the crop. It is therefor no coincidence that Habakkuk took to the watch tower when he was waiting for God to give him an answer.
In the same way when we need an answer from God it is essential that we are guarding against any sin coming into our lives. This is both for us as individuals and a church. We can not expect direction from God if we allow any form of sin to enter in and destroy the vine. We need to make sure that our lives are being lived right before we can expect God to direct us.
3. Standing on the promise.
God is faithful to answer Habakkuk’s prayer telling him to write the answer down, so that it will be remembered.
Habakkuk 2:2
Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a
herald may run with it.
3:For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove
false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
God shows Habakkuk that the righteous shall be safe because of their faith, but that He will punish the wicked. This is the answer that Habakkuk has been waiting for. Only, the problem is, that God isn’t going to fulfil His promise for some time. Here we see Habakkuk having to learn to trust in Gods promise, standing on it, even though he can’t see it yet. But how can we live as if the answer has already been received, when we can’t see it yet?
Firstly Habakkuk is told to write the answer down on stone tablets. This shows the seriousness of Gods promise similar to when he wrote the Ten commandments, but this time it is a one way contract. He then gives it to the runners to spread the word It is important that when we receive an answer from God that is for the future, we keep that answer safe. We can write it down or keep reciting it until it is as sturdy as stone We don’t have to fear spreading Gods promise, as it will come to pass The written word is powerful and it is an act of faith It is no longer a gentleman’s agreement but a contract and God is no mans debtor.
Secondly Habakkuk praises God even though he can see no evidence of Gods answer in the things around him. The whole of the third and last chapter of Habakkuk, is a psalm of praise to God. Habakkuk remembers the faithfulness of God in the past and praises God for the things that He is going to do even though it hasn’t come to pass yet. We need to have the same attitude whenever God has given us an answer that is for the future. We must remember Gods faithfulness and praise Him.
Habakkuk 3:17
Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18:yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
Even when we feel we are in a desert situation, where the fruit has not yet come forth, we need to rejoice in God and stand firmly upon His promise, knowing that His answer will come to pass.
Conclusion.
I don’t know what situation you are in, but I am certain that everybody needs answers from God. We all need constant direction. It wouldn’t have been any good if on Lake Windermere Liz had just given me one direction. There were many more obstacles in my way. Throughout our lives we need constant communication with God. You may even need many different answers. You may have problems in your marriage or with your loved ones and you need to know why. You may be seeking direction in your ministry, in you job, or with a problem in which you don’t know where to turn. We can always implement Habakkuk’s method in our lives.
1. Persistence in prayer:
God sometimes wants to see the true desire of our hearts.
2. Waiting in the Watch Tower:
We need to spend time seeking Gods face and dwelling in His presence expecting an
answer. We need to be vigilant to get rid of any wrong in our lives and to stop sin from
entering.
3. Standing on the Promise:
Once God has answered our prayers, we need to accept His answers, and they are for the
future then we need to trust Him and praise Him through our situation.
Knowing bible history we can see the fulfilment of Gods answer to Habbakkuk. The Babylonians did take Jerusalem, but were punished and Israel eventually returned. God told Habakkuk that the revelation speaks of the end, and we can trust now that in the last days the wicked will be punished and although the faithful will have to endure, they will be saved. Just as Habakkuk’s answer came to pass, so will any answer that God gives to us as individuals or as a church.
