Woe is me!

 

I read a story a couple of days ago about a mother and father who had a beautiful six-month-old baby. They had to bury their child because of an abusive daycare worker. I am watching the violence on the news as anti-Israel protesters pillage and destroy college campuses around our country. There is war in Ukraine and war against Israel. There is death and pain in those two regions. I see politicians on both sides of the aisle use their power to corrupt the halls of our government. The result is pain and suffering throughout our land. I see the powerful and wealthy treat God with contempt and his servants with disdain. I see man twisting God's beautiful creation nearly every day, claiming God messed up when he created them. As I read Habakkuk this morning, and his complaint against God, he could have written it yesterday:

"How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! 'Violence is everywhere!' I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted." (Habakkuk 1:1-4)

I can just feel the turmoil and stress faced by Habakkuk. It is so easy to get sucked into the attitude of doom and gloom. Woe is me! It is easy to wale, to whine, to cry out to the Lord, RESCUE US! For 3 chapters and 53 verses, we hear the pain of Habakkuk. It sounds like me when I sit in front of the TV or read the news online. But the last three verses in the great little book, tell of an attitude we should maintain:

"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights." (Habakkuk 3:17-19, emphasis added)

It is so important not to drown in hopelessness. It is so important to never give up hope. OUR GOD STILL REIGNS, and WE REJOICE IN THE LORD. God did not plan this evil, but he has a plan to end it all, and our part is to be ready. Our part is to help other people get ready. We could dwell on the evil. We could dwell on the gloom portrayed on the news, but the Lord is coming back and he will put to death the suffering and pain forever!

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." (John 14"1-4, ESV)