Connecting the Dots of God’s Faithfulness

We are living in some troubling times that can cause confusion and doubt. When we look at the world we live in and it doesn’t harmonize with the love and care of God, we can begin to doubt Him. One of my favorite books in the Bible is Habakkuk — and in it, we discover a man who came face to face with this problem.

Habakkuk looked at the nation of Israel who was being sinful and rebellious.

He cried out, “God, don’t You see what’s happening here?”

God answered telling him He was going to wipe out the nation of Israel.

Habakkuk said, “Timeout. That’s not what I meant. I meant revival and renewal.”

And God said, “No, I’m going to wipe them out and I’m going to use the Chaldeans to do that.”

Now Habakkuk was really in a quandary, thinking The Chaldeans, they’re worse than we are. How can You punish Israel with people who are more wicked than the Israelites?

So he went up in his prayer tower and didn’t come down until he got an answer. He sat there for two weeks when God finally answered, saying “Trust me.” That’s it.

Beloved, when you’re going through things you don’t understand, follow the pattern of what Habakkuk did next — he recited in his mind what he knew about God and what God had done in the past: God delivered the nation of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt with miraculous plagues, He parted the Red Sea, He knocked down the walls of Jericho…

When Habakkuk connected all those dots, do you know what he did? He said, “Bring on the Chaldeans.” He realized that whatever God was allowing in this world, He had an ultimate purpose. God gets a lot of bad press for the fallen world we live in, and for the sinful choices we make. God’s not causing the evil, but He sure uses it. As my friend Ross Gilbert says, “If there’s no purpose in pain, God’s not good.”

Listen to what Habakkuk cried out next,

“Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”

Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NASB)

My friends connect the dots of God’s faithfulness and even if it doesn’t look good, and even if it feels bad, by connecting those dots, we can find hope in the promise that God will work all things together for His good, our good and His glory and our glory.

Stand firm as we share in His glory as New Covenant children of the living God. You are able because He is mighty in you.