When the Lord directed me to read and reread Habakkuk, I did not see the parallel to our situation right away. The Book of Habakkuk is written after the reign of Josiah, a young king who restored the law, the worship of God and the celebration of Passover to Judah once again. However, after Josiah’s short reign, the condition deteriorated quickly, and the land became filled with oppression, violence and injustice. That is Habakkuk’s world. And that is why he cried out, “Lord, don’t You hear, don’t You see? Why am I seeing all this iniquity, violence and injustice?” He is shaken by what he sees. The Lord’s answer does not bring him comfort, because it will get worse. So after more questions, he takes his place in watchfulness, waiting on the Lord to speak and to bring some correction to His perception. And the Lord surely speaks by declaring what His people’s stance must be through it all: “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). The Lord begins to unfold the events of judgment that will follow the wicked, yet, right in the middle of the woes that are to come, He declares: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). At the end of all of that, Habakkuk writes, “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20).
Apparently, Habakkuk is undone, and so a song arises from his heart affirming that, even if he does not see the fruitful provision, he will continue to rejoice in the God of his salvation. He declares that the Lord is His strength and receives the reality and provision of God to have “hinds feet” (Habakkuk 3:19). This speaks of the ability to be sure-footed, traveling over all situations, even the precarious places that could cause people to stumble and fall. The Lord gives the ability to walk anchored deeply in Him upon the high places, the mountains He has given us to reign over.
I believe the Lord allows us to see the depths of evil so that we can see the depths of His power. We must not be taken aback by evil, but must know the power of our awesome God. We must know that the justice and righteousness that are the very foundation of His throne will prevail and will be the very foundation of His Kingdom here on earth. He is raising up unshakable sons that will co-labor with Him in the establishing of that Kingdom.
So the Lord says, “Arise my love, my fair one. Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
-Andree Bienvenue