Habakkuk 3: 1-3

I will stand at my watch
    and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
    and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

The Lord’s Answer

2 Then the Lord replied:

“Write down the revelation
    and make it plain on tablets
    so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
    it speaks of the end
    and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
    it will certainly come
    and will not delay.

Habakkuk is emotionally struggling with the sin and evil in his generation. Torn by the injustice he sees he cries out to God “Why do you remain silent when the wicked swallow up the righteous”.

Habakkuk has discovered Gods purity, and God’s heart for justice but his experience seems contradictory to his knowledge of God. How can a just God allow injustice! How can evil people get away with their wickedness and go unpunished? In his anguish he cries out to God from a deep place in his spirit and then waits for a response.

The entire book of Habakkuk is about a relational God having a conversation with a human being at a set moment in time and history. It is a beautiful example of the relationship Jesus bought for us through his death on the cross, that through his sacrifice now we can have a relationship with God. Now like Habakkuk we can have conversations with God whenever we want.

God responds to Habakkuk’s complaint with prophetic vision. In essence God replies by saying I’m telling you what is going to happen, write it down so you don’t forget it and wait for it to come to pass.

What an amazing portion of scripture! We are friends with a living God who talks to us, wants to know us, and wants us to know and understand him and his heart. We serve a God who knows everything about us, everything about our past, present and future. We serve a God who loves us and wants to reveal things to us. We serve a God who is for us, not against us.

God’s response to Habakkuk is that though it seems that the wicked get away with doing evil, their wickedness will catch up with them. There will be consequences for their actions and though it appears that the wicked go unpunished, eventually they will reap what they sow. If their actions are not punished on earth, there will be a day of judgement.

1. We can learn that we to have a relationship with a God who loves us and has good plans for us. Not only does he have good plans for us but he knows the plans he has for us.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah, like Habakkuk was living in a time of injustice and wickedness, yet God declared over him that his plans for him were good.

God knows us intimately, he has designed us for a purpose, and he has good plans for us. Now that is good news!

2.    We also learn from Habakkuk that God is a God who reveals the future. In answer to Habakkuk’s complaint God revealed a portion of the future to him and told him to write it down and wait for it to comes to pass.

God knows the plans he has for your future, your spouse’s future and your children’s future and he is willing and open to reveal that future to you as you develop your relationship with him through conversational prayer.

As parents who follow Christ we naturally want to align our lives with Gods plans and purposes for us and for our families. We want our children to align with God’s plans and purpose for them. We want our spouses to align with Gods plans and purposes for them, and God has divinely appointed us to come together as unique family units knowing that our unique purposes harmonize together as we live our lives together as families.

We have a relationship with a good God, a God we can openly have conversations with, who has good plans for us and wants us to enter into those good plans. Not only that, he has good plans for our spouse and our children that harmonize with our unique family unit, good plans that we can discover together as we walk together with God.

So how can we partner with Gods plans?

Let me make a practical suggestion:

1. Grab a pen and a journal
2. Set aside 30 minutes with God
3. Ask God for his good plans for you and write them down
4. Do the same for every member of your immediate family
5. Do it every day for one week
6. Review what you have written

Life presents it challenges, and we don’t always hear God accurately when we have conversations with God, however the more time we spend with Jesus in daily conversations, the more we will hear and understand God’s voice. We have open access to God at all times and when we doubt what we believe we have heard we have the honour and privilege of going to God again to gain clarification. If we do this and we teach our children to do this then the inevitable result is that we, our spouses, and our children will walk into Gods good plans for us and fulfil the purposes he designed for each one of us to fulfil.

Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus,

Thank-you that like Habakkuk and Jeremiah, we can come boldly to you in prayer and have regular conversations with you. Thank-you that speak to us and reveal things to come. Jesus we know you have designed us for a purpose and have placed us in families for a purpose. Reveal your plans for us, our spouses, and our children and help us to always stay connected to you and to your voice.

In Jesus name, Amen

ANDREW AUSTIN

Childrens' Pastor