Habakkuk
was a musical priest in Israel about 600BC. He was also a prophet, a
"mouth-piece" of God. He got to be a prophet through his complaint to
God about the degenerating situation in his society. The place was
falling apart; murder, violence, corruption, injustice at every turn.
The fear of God, a tenet in Israel for centuries, was no longer
recognized, and the civil authorities sold fairness to the highest
bidder. So, Habakkuk decided to take it up with the boss.
"Hey
God! Your people are in chaos down here! Don't you care? Why aren't
you doing something about it, God?!" He shouted at the Lord. God's
answer? Less than positive, at least from Habakkuk's perspective, "Hey
Habakkuk! You know your worst enemy? That country over there with the
most ruthless and terrifying and powerful army? I'm going to let them
invade Israel. You think you've got injustice and violence now! What a
bit, and then you'll see how the big boys do it!" Great answer, eh?
So
Habakkuk complained again. His second complaint, in Chapter 1 of the
book that bears his name, is pleading. "God, you want to wipe us out?
Is this invasion punishment for our sin? OK God, I get that, but why
destroy us completely? We have expectations of you and you don't seem
to be living up to them! As far as we're concerned, you 're breaking
your promises to your people. Where are you! Show up!"
And
then Habakkuk says the above (see beginning of the blog entry). The
grammar in the original gives the feeling of someone who just
challenged another to a fight, at a time and place. See you behind the gym at 3pm!
Habakkuk has put God on warning. He is going to vigilantly wait for
God to answer his complaint. "I'm watching you God. You can be sure
that when you do something, I'll be right there to see what it is."
When
was the last time you waited on God? Not a passive, "Oh, God will do
His thing in His time." But rather an active, focused, "OK God, show
up!". Habakkuk throughout this book is respectful to God. This isn't
a whiny child having a tantrum because he did not get his way. This is
a passionate spiritual leader trying to reconcile why everything he has
been taught about God is not measuring up in the current circumstances.
His watchtower is a symbol of a man on guard for his people, and
actively waiting for God's next move.
What
is he difference between active and passive waiting on God? Passive
waiting surrenders one's own will to the timing and wisdom of God.
Active waiting stands alert for God's actions, respectful and
expectant. Passive waiting on God turns everything over to Him and
lets go of it. Active waiting partners with God. Passive waiting is
the crowd watching a relay race at the stadium. Active waiting is the
runner waiting for the baton.
In
the Old Testament (where waiting on God is taken to spiritual heights)
divides the two based on interest. Passive waiting is appropriate when
one is self-interested. Active waiting is called for when the interest
is the welfare of others. For example, If I am stressed about a
personal problem, and have done everything I can do to solve it, asking
God to help and then trusting Him to intervene, results in appropriate
passive waiting. This grows personal peace and faith. However, if I
see another in need, it's too easy to just "give it to God". That is
an abdication of love.
Several
months ago at the River, we had a client desperate for a refrigerator.
This client had no means to purchase one (neither did we) and was in
trouble. We put the word out everywhere looking for one. We actively
searched Craigslist and the like, and kept looking, waiting for God to
show up. We were beginning to wonder what was taking so long! Then one
Sunday morning, first time visitors to the church came up to me after
service and said they had a fridge to donate. God showed up. They had
not even heard about the specific need of the fridge for our client,
but just knew generally what kind of things we did for others. We had
all the pieces in place; the pickup to carry the fridge and the men to
lift. All we needed was the fridge, and here it was. We actively
waited for God, on behalf of the just need of another, and were able to
respond so quickly when God showed up!
Habakkuk
looked around at his culture, his society and said, "Enough!" (Note:
This wasn't a fundamentalist rant against the lifestyle choices of his
nation, nor its "media" consumption, but rather a pleading for peace
and justice in world gone mad.) As a priest, he was actively involved
in the betterment of society, but was overwhelmed. He called out to
God, on behalf of the other (others) and actively waited for God to
show up. And when he didn't like God's answer, he went into aggressive
negotiations with the Creator to make things right. Oh, that we would
pursue justice with the passion and commitment of a Habakkuk!