O LORD, how long? - Habakkuk 1:2
Do you ever wonder where faith leaves off and doubt enters in? Daniel chapter three tells the story of Daniel’s three friends, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. These young men were whisked away from their families, homelands, and everything they knew around 600 B.C. by the invading Babylonian army (an invasion that God reveals to Habakkuk in his prophecy years before its actual occurrence). They were taken back to Babylon to be trained to forget that they were Jews and to live like they were Babylonians, but it didn’t work. The three boys, along with Daniel, held fast to their upbringing, their identity, and most importantly, their God. They lived up to the meaning of their names: Daniel – God is my Judge/Deliverer; Hananiah – the Lord is gracious; Azariah – the Lord helps; and Mishael – who is what God is?
In chapter three, Daniel’s friends face the trial of a lifetime. An idol has been erected and the king demands that it be worshipped. The boys refuse, but the gracious king offers them one last chance; bow before the idol and walk away unharmed or refuse and be immediately thrown into a furnace. Here is where the boys’ courage and faith are ultimately tested. “If this be so,” they reply to the king, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But, if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). Now, is the “But, if not” a sign of faith or a sign of doubt? Do they doubt that God will save them and therefore demonstrate their fear and lack of faith by creating an “out” clause? I don’t think so.
Daniel’s friends knew, as we must learn to know, that God is a great deliverer. There is nothing he cannot do, and there are times when he enters our lives in a dramatic fashion and saves the day. We get what we do not necessarily deserve—deliverance. There are also times when his faithful followers must face the furnace. When that time comes it is not a lack of faith but a demonstration of submission to the sovereignty of God to declare that it is entirely up to God whether he will deliver us or allow us to be delivered over. Daniel’s friends essentially say, “We trust God, we know what he can do, but he doesn’t have to do it in order for us to submit ourselves to him.” In other words, it is not a demonstration of a lack of faith for us to acknowledge that God may have different plans for us than we would want for ourselves or our loved ones. Since all that God plans for his children is good, even those things that would cause us pain are ultimately for a divine purpose. I really believe this, which is why I have no problem praying that someone might be healed of a disease or saved from a difficult situation and still say to God, “Your will be done, Lord.” I do not mean, “You probably will not heal this person, so here is my ‘save face’ clause.” I mean, “I know you can heal anyone you choose to heal, and you have demonstrated that time and time again in human history, and in my history, but you always know what is best, so please do what is best even if it does not seem best to me.” This is not always an easy prayer, nor am I always perfectly content. Like most of you, my ears have heard my mouth say more than once, “Please Lord… please, do it this way.” Nevertheless, I believe that God is good, and that God is powerful, and I want to live out the truth I know to be true: that God’s ways are higher than my ways. Sometimes it is wise, and faithful, to conclude our requests to God with: “If my will is not your will, O Lord, teach me to resign myself to your wiser determinations.”
This coming Sunday we begin our study of Habakkuk. Here we will see the internal struggles of a godly prophet as he wrestles with the sovereign will of the God he has grown to worship but cannot always understand. Why do “good” people suffer? Where is justice? Why does God tolerate wickedness? Why does he not fix things immediately? Why do we not see instantaneous justice and wrath poured out on those we believe deserve it? Why is it so often that the way of the righteous is difficult and fraught with pain?
These are all good questions when considered appropriately. We will try to do just that as we walk through this short but powerful narrative from the life of the prophet Habakkuk.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym