Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.  Habakkuk 2:4

God tells Habakkuk clearly in His word that the righteous live by faith.  They do not live as a law to themselves or as if the law is paralyzed.  He says, “the righteous are those who patiently trust in who God is and in the things that He has promised.” 

This is easier said than done because when the going gets tough, our natural response is to worry and our natural desire is to take the reins and take matters into our own hands.  It’s during these trying and uncertain times that God calls for us to trust in him and to be patient and live by faith.

When I was at my parents for Christmas this past year, I notice a plaque sitting out in their home that said, “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow.”  How comforting is that truth?  There are so many uncertainties in this life—so many things we don’t know, how reassuring is it to know the God who knows and know that He is in control? 

After God reassures Habakkuk that he is in control, notice how Habakkuk responds.  He says,

 I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me.  Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive 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.  Habakkuk 3:16-19

Though the circumstances in Habakkuk’s day were not great, notice how he responds.  He basically says, “Even though life stinks right now and it seems as if God is absent or as if He is standing idly by, I will rejoice in the Lord.  I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

For more on Habakkuk, click HERE