Brown's Daily Word 6-11-09

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this glorious day. He blessed us with a wonderful evening of great fellowship, study, and prayer last night. When we come before Him, He infuses us with His grace and power, so that we can press on, no turning back, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. I was looking at the Book of Habakkuk this morning for my devotion. In the Book of Habakkuk the prophet asks the question that all of us have asked at times, “Oh Lord, if you are good, why is life sometimes so bad?”. We, like Habakkuk, sometimes wonder why God does the things He does. At times life doesn’t seem fair. We cannot understand why things turn out the way they do. If life was meant to be good, why do bad things happen? Why does God allow this to go on? Why do really good people sometimes have so many struggles, while some people who are really bad appear to have all the benefits of life? Habakkuk was posing the very same questions that we do. All of us have been in Habakkuk's mind-set. We have all been knocked off our feet by the circumstances of life, staggered by things which have occurred, and our minds have been sent reeling. Many of the Psalms were written because of unresolved questions in the psalmist’s life. He did not hold back his language and expression about how he felt, whether angry, sad, or joyful. The prophets also grappled with God over what He revealed to them. Yet, He honors those who seek to know him and to find the answers to life's deepest and most perplexing questions. Jeremiah said to God, “You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?” (Jeremiah 12:1). Habakkuk had very much the same questions, and he was not afraid to come before the Lord with his questions and struggles. Through all of his questions, he did not abandon his faith. In spite of his questions, he was able to say, “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, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18). In fact, the invading armies were going to destroy the crops of Judah, slaughter any animals they could not carry off, and cut down all the fruit trees. However, Habakkuk’s faith and security were not in the things in which other people placed their hope. Habakkuk knew that, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Because of his faith he knew that God was there and that God knew what he was doing. He understood that God was not punishing him personally. Most of all, he was strengthened by the knowledge of God’s love for him.
In Jesus who does all things well,

Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je-wFV4M9MU