https://esv.literalword.com/?q=hab+1%3B+revelation+5
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 6 December 2023:
Note: Here is a video overview of Habakkuk: https://youtu.be/OPMaRqGJPUU
Note: When was the last time you heard a sermon from Habakkuk? Congratulations on reading all of God’s word this year.
Habakkuk 1:1-4 – O Lord…. Why?…
God’s plans won’t always make sense to us, and God will often leave our questions unanswered. During the exam, the Professor is silent. Don’t ask “why,” remember “who” is sovereign and what He has promised.
Habakkuk 1:3 — Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong?
In times of desperation, even the most faithful will question why God allows injustice, iniquity, and suffering. God values honest prayers.
Habakkuk 1:5 – 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.
From Henry T. Blackaby – “Christians habitually seek God’s voice through prayer, through His word, or through His messengers. Yet sometimes we fail to hear God speak through His activity, even though He is working all around us. Unbelievers see God’s activity without understanding what they see. God encourages His people to watch for His activity so they will know how they should respond and adjust their lives. The disciples discovered much about God’s power by witnessing Jesus calming a raging storm with a command. Seeing Jesus dine with the notorious sinner, Zacchaeus, taught them a poignant message about God’s love for sinners. Watching Jesus hang upon the cross communicated a compelling message of what God was willing to do to free people from sin. Discovering the empty tomb revealed an astounding truth of God’s victory over death. To those with spiritual discernment, God’s activity is a significant revelation about His heart and His will. If you are sensitive to what God is doing around you, He will clearly speak to you through His activity. You will know that God is at work, because what you see will astound you, and human power and wisdom will not explain it. If things happen that are direct answers to your prayers, God is speaking to you. When you experience events that surpass your understanding and ability, it may be that God is communicating a critical message to you. If you want to hear God’s voice, look around you to see what He is doing. When you are watching for God at work, what you see will reveal His character, and you will have a fresh understanding of how to respond to Him.
Habakkuk 1:6 — For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.
God uses evil nations and people to accomplish His good purposes.
Revelation 5:9, 10 — You were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.
Jesus has saved people all over the globe to be a Kingdom of priests on earth who will ultimately reign upon His return. Do you have wholehearted allegiance to your Kingdom, the Kingdom of God? Are you united with the citizens of the Kingdom of God across the globe? Are you living as a priest on earth and an Ambassador of Jesus and His Kingdom? Don’t lose sight of who you are, why you are here, and what God is calling you to be and to do.
We are called to work as a kingdom on earth, and we are called to be priests. Do you have that perspective?
Revelation 5:12 — …saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain….”
Listen to this podcast with Robert Godfrey on the worthiness of the Lamb to open the scroll with seven seals: https://www.truthnetwork.com/show/renewing-your-mind-rc-sproul/27871/
The Lion is the Lamb, and He is worthy to fulfill the will of God and restore all things. “Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 6 December 2023: Trust God today through uncertainty and challenges. His sovereign goodness can bring you continual joy and peace through all circumstances.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 