“The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.” Habakkuk 3:19
The book of Habakkuk is the story of a man, a nation, and a God who is seeking to save His people, who have gone so far from God, that in order to bring them back, a foreign army must come and invade the land. The spiritual condition of this invading nation is worse from a human standpoint than that of Israel. However, Israel had been blessed with the revelation of God more than any other nation, not only by the testimony of righteous men and women of faith whom God raised up, kept, blessed, and brought through trial and difficulty, but also by His prophets, those men specifically called to give the life-giving Word of the Lord to the people. The testimony of God, confirmed by the fulfillment of the promises of God, along with the perfect Law of God in the Scriptures, testified to all that the Lord was and is God, and that to turn away from Him, following the idolatrous actions of the nations around them, would certainly result in judgment. Habakkuk, sensitive man that he was, a prophet called of God to “Write a vision,” was raised up to not only expose the wickedness of the unbelieving nation of Israel, with the promise of coming judgment, but also, provide for Israel a door of hope, and this, by the faith of this man Habakkuk. Though tried and tested in his spirit, his heart, Habakkuk would weather the storm of what was coming, by setting Himself to rejoice in the Lord, taking HIM to be his strength, stability, and salvation.
In Psalm 73, we find another individual who, somewhat like Habakkuk, was faced with much the same thing. Habakkuk could not understand why a nation which was more unjust and ungodly than Israel, should be used by God to chastise, and correct His people, and this by an invasion. The psalmist was also overwhelmed by the wickedness of the nation around him, and it seemed that his pursuit of God and His righteousness was a losing matter. His faith was greatly tried when he saw the power, pleasure, and possession-driven people around him, in contrast to him seeking to have a pure heart before God. He began to think that his efforts to cleanse his heart to worship, and wash his hands in innocence, with regard to what he did, was a vain thing. As the Psalmist put it, he had almost stumbled, his feet slipping. His faith was faltering. But it was then, as in the case of Habakkuk, that he worshipped. Habakkuk went the top of the wall of the city to inquire of the Lord. The Psalmist went into the quiet place of the sanctuary to behold God’s glory. It was there, that in the presence of God, both men saw clearly the critical issues at hand, not only with regard to the problems of their day, but more so, concerning the eternal solution, Christ Himself.
The result of that clear perspective of God and eternal things brought the psalmist to declare: “You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel and afterward receive me to glory.” (Ps. 73:23,24) God would take the Psalmist, as well as Habakkuk, further in their understanding, but also in His solution for their own hearts. The Psalmist would be brought to the place where he declares: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (v.25,26) For Habakkuk, the solution was the same, for in the trying circumstances of his day, he would write: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Hab. 3:18) It is there in Christ alone, that both men would find their strength, stability, and satisfaction. Christ would become their all.
Dear Father, Be our all today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.