A Testimony of Hope - Tuesday Devotional
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 (CEB)
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you don’t deliver us.
Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
The Instruction is ineffective.
Justice does not endure
because the wicked surround the righteous.
Justice becomes warped.
I will take my post;
I will position myself on the fortress.
I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me
and how [God] will respond to my complaint.
Then the Lord answered me and said,
Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet
so that a runner can read it.
There is still a vision for the appointed time;
it testifies to the end;
it does not deceive.
If it delays, wait for it;
for it is surely coming; it will not be late.
Some people’s desires are truly audacious;
they don’t do the right thing.
But the righteous person will live honestly.
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you don’t deliver us.
Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
The Instruction is ineffective.
Justice does not endure
because the wicked surround the righteous.
Justice becomes warped.
I will take my post;
I will position myself on the fortress.
I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me
and how [God] will respond to my complaint.
Then the Lord answered me and said,
Write a vision, and make it plain upon a tablet
so that a runner can read it.
There is still a vision for the appointed time;
it testifies to the end;
it does not deceive.
If it delays, wait for it;
for it is surely coming; it will not be late.
Some people’s desires are truly audacious;
they don’t do the right thing.
But the righteous person will live honestly.
The Old Testament book of Habakkuk is framed as a dialogue between the prophet and God, beginning with a lament over violence and injustice and moving through the unsettling news that Babylon will be an instrument of judgment. Its central theme is the struggle to reconcile God’s justice with human suffering, leading to the assurance that “the righteous live by their faith.” Scholars believe the book was written shortly before 605 BC, as Babylon rose to power.
Habakkuk’s words open with a cry that feels startlingly familiar: “How long will I call for help and you not listen?” The prophet names what so many of us have felt when we witness injustice - the ache of unanswered prayers, the weariness of watching suffering continue while God seems silent. Everywhere the prophet looks, he sees fighting in the streets and judgments twisted in the courts.
Yet, Habakkuk does not stop at lament. He chooses to wait - to keep watch for the voice of God. His watchtower becomes a place of trust, not because the world makes sense, but because he believes that God still speaks. The divine response does not resolve the pain immediately, but it does offer something enduring: a vision. Even if it lingers, God’s vision will arrive at its appointed time, steady and sure.
What is asked of us is faithfulness. “The righteous person will live honestly,” God says. In the midst of warped justice, honest living becomes an act of resistance. In a world dominated by audacious greed, the simple practice of integrity becomes a testimony of hope.
The prophet’s lament and God’s promise remain intertwined. To cry out in despair is not to lose faith; it is to participate in the ancient rhythm of waiting, listening, and honest living while the vision unfolds.
Yet, Habakkuk does not stop at lament. He chooses to wait - to keep watch for the voice of God. His watchtower becomes a place of trust, not because the world makes sense, but because he believes that God still speaks. The divine response does not resolve the pain immediately, but it does offer something enduring: a vision. Even if it lingers, God’s vision will arrive at its appointed time, steady and sure.
What is asked of us is faithfulness. “The righteous person will live honestly,” God says. In the midst of warped justice, honest living becomes an act of resistance. In a world dominated by audacious greed, the simple practice of integrity becomes a testimony of hope.
The prophet’s lament and God’s promise remain intertwined. To cry out in despair is not to lose faith; it is to participate in the ancient rhythm of waiting, listening, and honest living while the vision unfolds.
Posted in Habakkuk
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