Expect and Listen, pt. 1

"I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint". -Habakkuk 2:1

Habakkuk: a prophet of the Lord.
At the beginning of this book, we see Habakkuk complaining to the Lord because he has not seen the Lord work on his behalf concerning a suffering country of Judah (Hab. 1:2-4).  The Lord then finally answers him by saying: "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told"(1:5).  The Lord was in fact doing something for the land of Judah, but Habakkuk could not see it yet because the time was not right. How many times do we go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to do things on our behalf? Everyday. But sometimes, the Lord is not ready to reveal those things to us because he is still working in other areas that we can not see in order for those things to come to pass. Isaiah 55:8 says: "My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the Lord, "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." God responds in His timing. Habakkuk understood what the Lord was saying and eventually trusted in the Lord and says that he will not move until he sees the Lord work. Just because we do not see God do something immediately when we ask him does not mean that he is not doing something. The Lord wants us to come to him with the things that our hearts desire and the things that we want to see the Him work in. In fact, the Lord told Habakkuk to "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end-it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay." (2:2-3) Tell the Lord your desires, but do not doubt that He will do it. With God all things are possible! If we ask for something or whatever it may be, EXPECT the Lord to work. Often I will pray and then just not expect anything out of it, but how faithless is that. We should expect the Lord to speak to us and to work on our behalf if we are His. But even if we do not see immediate results, our response should be just like Habakkuk's in 3:17-19:

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive tree fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation, God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places."

God alone is to be praised even if we do not see him working! At the end of it all, He is still the God of our salvation, our portion, and our strength.

Expect to hear from the Lord today. Expect to hear with full confidence (without wavering) that He still speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. Praise Him if you hear from him, and Praise Him if you have to wait on Him. In or out of season, be sure that God gets the glory in whatever you do.

"Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." -Ps. 5:3 (see also Proverbs 3:5-6)