Living in the “Already-But-Not-Yet” of Faith…

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?…And the LORD answered me…”For still the vision awaits its time…it will not lie.  If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come… the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 1:2, 2:2-4)

The prophet here is complaining about the fact that God is using the ungodly kingdom of the Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar to punish the Jews for their covenant-breaking idolatry.  In 586 BC, the destruction of Jerusalem began, ending several years later in the city’s total destruction and the end of the Davidic dynasty which has endured for over 400 years.  The Judean elite were then deported to Babylon, marking the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity which lasted approximately 70 years. 

While there had been many prophecies about these very occurrences, there were also prophecies of a more hopeful nature: that the ungodly nations would eventually be destroyed, that God had not abandoned his people Israel, and that their rescue and restoration would come eventually.  More to it, beyond the concerns of the nation of Israel, there were more momentous prophecies: that God would send his Messiah, that the nations would be brought under the rule of the Messiah and live at peace, and even that all creation would be restored.   “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14). 

In this passage, Habakkuk is complaining to God that what he sees all around him is pretty bleak: the bad guys seem to be winning and it’s hard to believe or even remember sometimes the good promises.  How often do we find ourselves in the same spot?

God however responds with an assurance that His promises will be fulfilled even if they are delayed: “… the vision awaits its time… wait for it; it will surely come…”.  God asserts that his promises cannot fail, cannot deceive: “…the vision…will not lie.”.  He encourages the prophet to be patient, to persevere in hope of the promises’ fulfillment.  And God concludes with an assertion that is repeated several times many hundreds of years later in the New Testament by St Paul and the writer of Hebrews: “…the righteous shall live by his faith.”.

Faith is more than just intellectual assent; it is trust in the One who is trustworthy.  It is believing without seeing.  It is seeing beyond the natural with spiritual vision that becomes a  certainty that despite everything my natural senses tell me, I am choosing to put my trust in what God in his Word has revealed to me.  It is a higher, deeper, truer reality, so I believe, I trust, I stake my very life on it. 

Yet I live in time, and right now and for the foreseeable future, what I so long to see in my life or for those I love appears unreal and even impossible.  The good that has been promised is true, already settled and guaranteed by God himself.  It simply hasn’t arrived yet in time. 

So what is the call to me right now?  Hang on.  “The vision awaits its time…it will not lie.”.  God is the Author of time and he rules over it.  God is always true to his Word; he cannot lie.  Every day, every moment, I have the choice to believe Him or to believe what my senses tell me or what I hear proclaimed in the media.  The enemy of our souls tries to get me to believe his lie that what I long for will never happen, that it’s an impossibility.  He works hard and constantly to get my focus off of God and onto my circumstances.

The end of the book of Habakkuk says this: “Though the fig tree does not blossom, nor fruit be on the vine, the produce of the olive fail and 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 joy in God of my salvation.  God, the Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like deer’s feet, he makes me tread upon my high places.”.  The prophet has decided; he has set his will in the direction of faith, and so he chooses to rejoice in whom he knows his God to be: trustworthy, faithful to his covenant promises,  always merciful and good.   He has chosen rightly. 

It’s not wrong to keep asking God for things that I have been waiting years for, but I think it’s also time for me to begin thanking him for the answers  long before I have the evidence.

I too can offer my sacrifice of praise in even the most distressing times.  I too can gain strength by clinging to his promises.  I too can wait.  I too can live by faith.