This month we’re looking at a conversation between a prophet and God in the book of Habakkuk. Last week, we saw Habakkuk cry out to God in his suffering. God answered that He is at work in the situation, but Habakkuk’s circumstances would get worse before they got better (Habakkuk 1:1-11). Habakkuk reminds himself of the truth of God’s character and then waits with eager expectation to hear how God will respond (Habakkuk 2:1).
“And the LORD answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. ‘Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.’” (Habakkuk 2:2-4)
This phrase—the righteous shall live by his faith—is quoted three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:37-38). When we take all of these passages together, we see that the faith mentioned here ultimately points to faith in Jesus Christ.
When we live by faith, we believe that God’s promises are true. We believe that Jesus Christ has battled our worst enemies—sin, evil, and death—and He is victorious.
God put His power on display in the death and resurrection of Jesus—He has the power to deliver on His promises.
And while we were His enemies, Christ laid down His life for us (Romans 5:8). He loves us, and we are His—He can be trusted to deliver on His promises.
So as Habakkuk lives out God’s exhortation to “wait for it” in verse 3, he can take comfort knowing that God can and will deliver on His promises. This is how the righteous live by faith: we believe that God’s promises are true while we wait for His purposes to unfold.
No matter what you face this week, you can have faith that God can and will keep all His promises to you.
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