WAIT FOR GOD

Text:  Habakkuk 2:3,4.

Purpose: To show from Scripture the necessity of waiting for God to work out His own purposes, and to suggest specific areas of practical application.

Introduction

We are often tempted to run ahead of God. Impatient with His ways of doing things, we are prone to take matters into our own hands. Part of true faith is the willingness to leave affairs in God's hands, and to trust Him enough to wait for His righteous actions on our behalf. This lesson suggests six specific occasions when we must "wait for God."

Body

I. The prophet Habakkuk lived just before the Babylonian (Chaldean) invasion of Judah, and it was his unhappy responsibility to declare the impending disaster. His book is a running conversation between the prophet and Jehovah.

   A. The first dialogue.

        1. "Why do you allow violence and injustice to prevail in our land?" the prophet asks Jehovah (1:2-4).

        2. "It is not overlooked," God answers. "I will do a terror-inspiring thing very soon. I will send the cruel Chaldeans (Babylonians) to punish Judah for her sins" (1:5-11).

   B. The second dialogue.

        1. "You are always righteous, God," Habakkuk says. "How can you watch even your own wicked people punished by a nation so much more wicked? Now I will wait quietly to see your answer and my own rebuke for such a question" (1:12-2:1).

        2. "Write the vision plainly," God says to Habakkuk. "I will surely do what I have planned, and, though its fulfillment is delayed it will certainly come. The wicked, puffed up with self-confidence, displease me. The righteous person, however, will find life in his faith" (2:2-4).

        3. Then follows God's warning to Babylon, indicting her for extreme wickedness and assuring her that pagan idols will be quite powerless when Jehovah is ready to begin His holy punishment (2:5-20).

   C. Habakkuk then responds with a beautiful prayer, in which he recounts God's mighty acts in the past and anticipates coming judgment on the prophet's own nation. He closes with the statement found in verses 16-19, that no matter what might come, he will still hope in Jehovah, believing that God will make him victorious by faith. The prophet himself thus expresses the saving faith of which God spoke in 2:4.

II. The statement found in 2:4 is quoted three times by Testament Scripture writers, and it expresses a truth urgently needed today by world and church alike (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:37,38).

III. The prophet's need to simply wait for God was difficult to fulfill and was one of the grandest examples of the faith that saves. When man is powerless, in anticipation of God's power, then he best knows the meaning of the trust which looks solely to God Almighty for help. There are occasions for Christians to show the same kind of trust today - the willingness to "wait for God."

IV. How we should wait on God in dependent faith.

        A. As Paul, in not commending himself too soon (I Corinthians 4:1-5).

        1. His enemies were commending themselves and the Corinthians had begun to follow their example by glorying in men.

        2. Paul would not even commend himself, though his conscience was clear. God would do that when the proper time came for righteous judgment.

        3. Today we must resist the temptation to proclaim ourselves "God's chosen" in a sectarian sense. The self-applied labels "sound," "loyal," and "faithful" also carry the same danger. We must wait for God to pronounce us faithful. When Jesus returns, He might not measure by our selection of "issues," and He might not apply the same labels we would.

   B. As the Corinthians, in waiting for glory and immortality (I Corinthians 4:8-11).

        1. They were forgetting to do this, and Paul gives a mild rebuke. Heaven's glory has not yet begun; we are still very mortal.

        2. While we are in this life, we continue to suffer, be sick, endure hardships and finally die.

        3. Serving God does not automatically guarantee success in business, bliss in marriage or regular divine healing when we are sick or injured - though God does give prosperity, health and happiness when it serves His divine purposes and will to do so.

   C. As the Galatians, for rewarded faithfulness and good deeds (Galatians 6:7-10).

        1. They, like us, could become "weary in well doing."

        2. They, like us, could use this encouragement.

        3. We will surely reap what we sow, and God will give eternal life to those who by continuing patiently in well doing show that they seek glory, honor and immortality (Romans 2:6,7).

   D. As the Thessalonians, for Jesus' return (I Thessalonians 1:9,10; see also II Peter 3).

        1. These Christians had seen some of their loved ones die in Christ, apparently to miss out on His return.

        2. Paul shows them that when Christ comes, their loved ones will be raised first; only then will those living rise to meet the Lord, and in company with the resurrected saints.

        3. What a joyous thought that the graves of our loved ones will burst open one day, the cemeteries will come alive with activity, and every child of God will be given a glorified, immortal body and live forever! Let us wait patiently for that day!

   E. As the Hebrew saints, for God's benefits in spite of present difficulties (Hebrews 10:34-39).

        1. These Christians had suffered much affliction on turning to Jesus. They anticipated glory; instead they were in distress.

        2. They needed the very word of Habakkuk's experience: "Wait for God! " "The just live by faith! "

        3. The same situation and need exist today where men have truly turned to God in renunciation of the world-system and its lusts.

   F. As martyr-souls under the altar, for vindication from God (Revelation 6:9-11).

       1. This picture shows martyr-souls, crying out for divine retribution against the godless earth-rulers who had murdered God's helpless and righteous people.

       2. The divine answer is, "Wait for God. He will vindicate in due time. Others must also suffer first."

       3. When we suffer for righteousness' sake, we must not retaliate or try to vindicate ourselves. Let us rather wait for God, who is too just to behold evil. One day He will make it all right.

Conclusion

In times of utter human helplessness, the righteous learn best to live by faith. Under all circumstances, let us serve God with sincerity, zeal and perseverance. We may know that, regardless of the human scene of affairs, God is on His throne and He will carry out His righteous and loving purposes for those who wait for Him.

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