O Lord, How Long Shall I Cry

The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.

Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises.

Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

“Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.

For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.

They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and more fierce than evening wolves.

Their chargers charge ahead; their cavalry comes from afar; they fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.

“They all come for violence; their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand.

They scoff at kings, and princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, for they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.

Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; he commits offense, ascribing this power to his god.”

Habakkuk 1:1-11

Why do bad people prosper while good people suffer? How often have you been confused by things going on in your life that you have cried out and asked whether God cared about you?

There are moments when we don’t understand God’s ways, but we need to trust His unchanging character. That’s exactly what Habakkuk did.

Our situation may look very different from God’s point of view.

Our Daily Bread – September 17, 2015