HABAKKUK 1 THE EMBRACE OF FAITH

The ability to see things that others avoid looking at and the knack of making a written journal of your feelings and insights is the vision of a prophet. But the seers of the Bible are inspired by God to record their burdens and rants. Anyone who makes outbursts against the status quo is unpopular and often shunned and excluded.

Habakkuk was one of those inspired seers. His name means embracer or the wrestler. In his name and life message we see our need to hold tight to the Lord. We need to embrace God or in reality open our heart to His embrace. The views in Habakkuk’s composition are a dialogue between Habakkuk and the Lord as he squeezes as close as he can to God to hear His voice. Faith embraces the object of faith God’s person and accepts the oracle of faith God’s word.

Habakkuk lived during the Babylonian rise to power; they were military bullies who were poised to shock the Israeli nation into slavery.

Habakkuk wanted to know why God was allowing this thug group of blasphemous scoundrels to threaten the ones He loved. He demanded a reason for why God would stand idle while the biblical truth he stood for was being desecrated.

PRESSURE CREATES PRAYER V.1-17

   THE PERSONALITY OF FAITH V.1

       ENCOURAGED WITH CRUSHING   The burden

A burden is a care, a concern that weighs us down. It’s a continual stress and aggravation, which drives us to the Lord.

Burden literally means to lift up and can also be translated oracle. It’s through those things that are heavy and devastating that we are lifted up to the Lord to wrestle out before Him the answers and solutions. This then becomes an oracle a heavy message and even a life message. This is what builds our faith as we respond in our spirit to the crushing blows of life. Unfortunately it’s these very severe and overwhelming issues that can cause us to get embittered and turn us against the Lord and His ways. To develop faith we must see God’s hand in the mysteries of stormy darkness and the shattering devastations of lost dreams and dashed hopes.