Title: God's Answer (Hab 2:1-4)
Contents
God's answer
Hab 2:1-4
When I look at children studying at school, I have a lot of questions. Among the children who usually ask a lot of questions, there are many children who are good at studying. However, some children interrupt the class by asking the wrong questions. Anyway, it's good to have a lot of questions. But what about our life? Do you understand all of our lives? Any questions? There are many times in our lives that we don't really understand our lives. Even if you try to solve everything by faith, it will not make sense. I believed well, but why do I get sick? Why am I having an accident? These are my thoughts on why my loved ones die so early.
Even those who do not know God and live in their own ways live well and happily, and their families are all healthy. Everything they do is going well, so why am I like this? I worked hard in my faith life, and I did a lot of volunteer work, but when it comes to church work, I put aside everything and pursued it. Why is this happening to me? These questions are not unique to you, but to me as well. Why don't I have parents? Why am I sick? Why did you take your one and only sister early? These are the questions that have come up constantly throughout my life.
This question also came to the prophet Habakkuk in the Bible today. Chapter 1 is lined with such questions. Why do God's people suffer and their enemies and Gentile nations prosper? Why don't the nations where enemies serve idols perish? Does God exist? If there is a God, why does he leave his enemies alone? These are the questions you ask. After all, the times are different and the events are different, but the essence is the same as the question we have today.
When these questions arise, people seem to have two ways to solve them. One is to give up altogether. It's my selling or my destiny. It's just a sigh of relief without hope. There is no progress in life for such a person. On the other hand, some people ask questions and receive answers from God. Go to God and find the answer. He is like Habakkuk in the Bible today. Let's get to the main text.
1, I will stand
Verse 1 “I will stand.” “I will stand at my watch, and I will stand in the tower. I will wait and see what he will say to me and see how he answers my questions.” I will stand. It's just that I won't accept it as fate. I just don't want to be discouraged. So I can't sit still. I got up. Dear saints, I hope you do not sit down and lament, but stand up looking to God.
Habakkuk asks God. Why is this happening? Has God let go? This is not a question we ask because we do not believe in God. This question is asked because I trust God more. I do things to my family that I can't tell others. Because I believe. You tell your friends what you can't tell anyone. Because I believe. Because we believe in God, we can go before God and ask questions. It also means that I will listen to the answer to the words that I will stand. Our God is a God who answers.
In the Bible, there are many people who questioned God. Abraham also lived his life by constantly questioning God. David also lived his life by questioning God. Moses also lived by questioning God. God answers each time. In the midst of suffering, Job also constantly asked God questions. Why do I have this pain? God's answer to that is a blessing. Job's suffering did not end with suffering. God turned that suffering into a blessing. The Bible says:
“The Lord blessed Job in the last years of his life, and he blessed it more than the first. There has never been a woman as beautiful as the dragon daughters in the whole country.” I did. He gave you twice as much wealth. Instead of the woman who abandoned Job and ran away, she got a wife again, and the story that their daughters are the prettiest in the whole country isn't that the woman is beautiful? He is the God who turns suffering into blessing. Habakkuk stood up because he believed in that God. Another word found in the text is said to have waited and looked forward to. God is not a God who disappoints us. He is a God who gives grace to those who wait and those who look. That God is believing, waiting, believing and looking forward. And what happened?
2. God is a God who always answers.
God answered. I waited and looked and stood with the faith that I would see how you would answer me. “And then the Lord answered me, saying,” God answered. This is the answer to Habakkuk's question. Please believe that God will surely answer those who look to Him with faith. God is answering me, so I have to write it on a plate so that I can read it while running. What do you mean?
God's answer is not that he responds in a haphazard manner, but that he responds with certainty and clearly. Engraving on a plate so that you can read it while running is something everyone in the world knows, accurate and infallible. But the content is huge. One is that all the wicked will perish, and the righteous are saved by God. But there is a certain time. I'm just throwing it away because the time hasn't come yet.
Prosperity of the wicked is not the same as prospering. It is not suffering that the righteous suffer. There is a time set by God. There is a purpose set by God. Because we do not know the meaning, it seems inconvenient to us and God does not seem to help. But it will all come out bright as you can see as you run.
In the old days, in rural areas, one pig was raised for each household. The reason is that some raise pigs to help make a living, but some houses have a clear reason for raising pigs. When you marry your child who has reached adulthood, you buy and raise pigs in time for that. But in one house, pig curtains were weak, so it was okay when they were young, but the pigs are big and strong? Break the door and come out.
They came out, dug up the yard, handed over the long-dock, broke it, and made a fuss. Still, the owner leaves it alone. Rather, they put them in a pig sack and then give them more to eat. Young children don't understand. Why, but there is a reason. The reason is to eat them on the day of the feast... When the day of the feast is near, they give more, give them better things, and keep gaining weight. Is this a blessing? The wicked must know that judgment must follow. Dear brothers and sisters, please do not be upset over these things and wait for God's appointed time.
Pray and watch and wait. The day is coming at the appointed time. Therefore, today's text contains a message of exhortation to all believers.
3. The righteous will live by their faith
The righteous live by faith. But that belief. It is living by the faith you have. We do not live by the beliefs of others, but our own beliefs. Dear believers, I hope you have faith in God. God has never forsaken those who have faith. If I have trouble, God's will is also there.
Now, there is no other way but God's help. Miraculously, the pastor's consciousness returned and came to life. People asked him. Isn't God dissatisfied? Then he replied: “It’s okay, I don’t complain. God knew all the bombs were there, and He knew I was there. The explosion is not an accident, it is a natural event, I do not believe it was an accident.
God is in control of everything and takes good care of everything for our benefit, but there is no chance that God is not aware of it. He obviously had a big, miraculous plan for me. I just didn't know that. Now I know. After that accident, I brought a great miracle to the ministry. By that miracle, I am now sharing the gospel with millions of people. I am not the victim of the explosion, but the one who benefited
There is no pain that cannot be contained in the vessel of faith. The ancestors of all faiths are people who put pain into this vessel of faith and blossomed. I pray that your suffering will bloom into glory.