Daily Devotions

Habakkuk – Records a back-and-forth conversation between God and the prophet Habakkuk, shortly before the Babylonian invasion of Judah (640-605 BC). In this unique book, instead of God speaking to the people through a prophet, here the prophet Habakkuk speaks to God on behalf of the people! God reassures the questioning prophet that he will indeed judge the wicked, but in his own way and his own timing. God also reminds Habakkuk (and us) that the “righteous shall live by faith” (2:4).

Habakkuk differs from the other prophetic books in that is is made up not of the prophets preaching to his compatriots, but of an extended dialogue between the prophet and God which reaches it’s climax in 2:1-3 

“What’s God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst.
    I’ll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon.
I’ll wait to see what God says,
    how he’ll answer my complaint.

And then God answered: “Write this.
    Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
    so that it can be read on the run.”

 

Eugene Peterson entitles this portion as - “Full of Self, but Soul-Empty”

C.S. Lewis said that when he first became a Christian, he had trouble with church gatherings. “I thought that I could do it on my own by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and I wouldn’t go to churches anymore.” He found the sermons often dull, and he disliked organ music, which he described as “one long roar.” He had contempt for church hymns, which he “considered to be fifth rate poems set to sixth rate music.” As his faith matured, however, he grew to value gathering with other Christians to worship. As his ego diminished, he realised that these hymns were being sung with enthusiasm by elderly saints in neighbouring pews, and then he realised that he was unworthy to clean their boots. He said, “Going to church gets you out of your solitary conceit.” 

Some say that true prayer is egoless, and involves humility and worship. For example, some say that true prayer is about submission and losing oneself in something bigger.

Forgive me, Lord. I want to have an accurate, God's-eye view of myself, willingly sharing the spotlight and letting others take credit, even for my work. Please keep me from arrogance and the obsession with my wants and needs. Give me a humble spirit, willing to submit to you first and then to others. Amen