Suffering

Readings for today: Habakkuk 1-3

I have seen starvation firsthand. I have seen the devastating effects of drought and famine. I have seen disease and plague. I have seen the aftermath of war. I have sat with those who are suffering. I have counseled victims of violence. I have ministered to those struggling with mental illness. I have visited those in prison. And I have prayed the prayer of Habakkuk many, many times. “How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.” (Habakkuk‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Last spring, I was in northern Ethiopia and our team was training and equipping women to launch businesses when gunfire broke out sevearl kilometers outside the city we were staying in. Rebel forces engaged the national military. It was a sober reminder of what the indigenous people in that particular area have to live with on a daily basis. This fall, I will be heading to South Sudan. A failed state. I will go to a region where there is often violence and injustice and oppression as those who have power steal and rob and kill those who do not. How long must I call for help? How long must I cry out for salvation? The wicked restrict the righteous and justice comes out perverted. And that is why there is no peace. Not in our world. Not in our time. Humanity is too corrupt. Humanity lives in a constant state of rebellion against her Creator.

My only response is to wait. Wait on the Lord. He alone is strong enough to save. He alone has the power to redeem. Like Habakkuk, my role is to take my place on the watchtower. “I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.” (Habakkuk 2:1 CSB) I watch and wait with eager anticipation for the coming of the Lord. I look for the chariots and horses of the Lord as they ring the hills all around. I am confident the Lord sees all and knows all and He loves the world and humanity too much to let us go. He will act according to His perfect time. He will move according to His perfect will. He is even now in His Temple, seated on His throne. “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence.” (Habakkuk 2:20 CSB) I do not need to be afraid. I do not need to be anxious. The future is in His hands. The wicked will be judged. Evil will be overthrown. Every wrong will be made right. Justice will roll down like an ever-flowing stream. Righteousness will flow from a never-ending spring. This is His promise and it is sure. It is good. And I trust Him. ‭

Readings for tomorrow: Joel 1-3

Questioning God

Readings for today: Habakkuk 1-3, Psalms 133

One of the things I love most about the Bible is how it doesn’t shy away from hard questions. It is not afraid to depict God’s people in moments of significant doubt or fear or struggle. It talks about the life of faith as it is, not as we often pretend it to be. I think about the many preachers and teachers I know who pretend like they have no doubts, no questions, no fears. I can’t relate to such people. Their system is too closed. Their theology too rigid. Their god is too small. I prefer the God of the Bible. A God of infinite wonder and mystery. A God who is not afraid of hard questions. A God who is big enough and strong enough and secure enough to take our anger and frustration. A God whose ways are so much higher than our ways and whose thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts. A God who loves to wrestle. A God who loves to get His hands dirty. A God who stands with me in the trials. A God who walks with me through every dark valley. Perhaps that’s why I love the questions from Habakkuk today. He asks some of the same questions I often ask myself.

“Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.” (Habakkuk‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬) I hate what I often see happening around me in the world. I hate the corruption of the powerful. I hate the injustice they create. I hate the selfishness and greed and narcissism I see on display on a daily basis. I hate the outrage and anger and division and enmity that’s fostered online or by those in places of leadership. I hate the fact that I have to read about these things every day. I hate the fact that my social media feed is a dumpster fire of wrongdoing. I hate that oppression and violence are right in front of me. It makes me question the effectiveness of God’s Law. It makes me wonder about the impact of the church. It sometimes even causes me to despair. One can argue that perhaps I should stop reading the news or get off social media. That’s escapism. It’s the privilege of those who have enough wealth and power to insulate themselves against the terrors of this world. I have far too many friends around the world who don’t have that luxury so I do my best to stay in the battle with them.

“Are you not from eternity, Lord my God? My Holy One, you will not die. Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment; my Rock, you destined them to punish us. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous? Why are you silent while one who is wicked swallows up one who is more righteous than himself?” (Habakkuk‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭CSB‬) If I’m totally honest, sometimes I even question God. Why does He not work more quickly? Why does He seemingly tolerate those who are treacherous and dishonest and corrupt and evil in our world? Why does He seem to be silent when the wicked swallow up the righteous? I feel this most viscerally when I look at the church. When I see so many false teachers flourish and so many faithful pastors flounder. I ask myself why so many abusers are given positions of influence and power while those who would never harm the sheep labor in obscurity. I think of a church I know who has a pattern of sexual immorality among her pastors. In the fifteen years I’ve been in my community, they’ve had at least twelve members of their pastoral staff commit sexual infidelity on some level. How are they still in existence? Why does God not remove their lamp stand? It baffles me.

“I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint…Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!” (Habakkuk‬ 2:1, ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬) At the end of the day, my trust has to be in the Lord not in what I see happening in the world around me. I walk by faith not by sight. My job is to stand guard at my post and wait for the coming of the Lord. Though there is so much fear and anxiety, violence and oppression, suffering and pain in the world; I can take heart for Jesus has overcome the world. Though justice and righteousness and redemption and reconciliation and peace and human flourishing may not happen in my lifetime or in the places where I labor around the world, yet I will celebrate in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. I will give thanks for the Lord gives me strength. He enables me to leap like a deer and walk on mountain heights and accomplish things I never thought possible.

Readings for tomorrow: Zephaniah 1-3, Psalms 134

Reading the Bible Cross-Culturally

Readings for today: Habakkuk 1-3

I am sitting in the United Club in Washington/Dulles, waiting for my next flight which will take me to the Horn of Africa. My youngest daughter is with me. Our trip is long. Many hours over many flights to get where we are going. Eventually, we will fly on a Mission Aviation Fellowship plane and land on a dirt runway in a rural area where we will spend the week. No showers. No A/C. Little food. It is going to be a challenging experience but also a rewarding experience. I can’t wait.

We’re crossing a lot of barriers to get here. Geographic barriers like oceans and continents. Political barriers as we fly in and out of different countries. Economic barriers as the people we will serve are among the poorest in the world. Cultural barriers like language, dress, and other customs. The area where we are going is located in a nation where the rule of law has yet to be fully established. Infrastructure is almost non-existent. Traveling by road is dangerous and uncertain so we fly our team and our supplies in. We are working with some of the most courageous Christians I have ever met. They endure all sorts of hardship and persecution in order to spread the good news of the gospel among their people. It’s a privilege to support and resource them.

When I think of some of the people I know who live in this particular region, I am struck by how much closer they are culturally to the Scriptures. Verses like the ones we read today in Habakkuk are not philosophical abstractions for them. They live these verses. They pray these verses. They preach these verses. Consider these words from Habakkuk 1:1-4 MSG, “God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen? How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!” before you come to the rescue? Why do you force me to look at evil, stare trouble in the face day after day? Anarchy and violence break out, quarrels and fights all over the place. Law and order fall to pieces. Justice is a joke. The wicked have the righteous hamstrung and stand justice on its head.” This is their lived experience. They know what it’s like to stare evil in the face day after day. They know what it’s like to see anarchy and violence break out as roving gangs from rival tribes burn and pillage their way through their towns and villages. The leader of their country is as corrupt as they come. He stands justice on it’s head with regularity. Day by day, they cry out to God. How long? How long before you come to our help?

They also walk by faith. They claim the promises of Habakkuk as their own. Through drought adn famine and persecution and tribal warfare, they cling to the hope they have in Christ. The sure and certain knowledge that God’s rule will prevail. Listen to how Habakkuk describes it…“Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I’m singing joyful praise to God. I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on God’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I’m king of the mountain!” (Habakkuk‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭MSG‬‬) I don’t know about you but it’s hard for me to reconcile these verses with my life. I am blessed beyond measure. I am wealthy beyond measure. I am rich beyond measure. I’ve never known life-threatening hunger or water-born disease or lawlessness. So it’s hard to put myself in the shoes of those I will serve this week. That’s why I come. I want to learn. I want to grow. I want to see the world through their eyes. I want to read the Bible through their eyes. I want to see Christ through their eyes so I may draw ever closer to Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Joel 1-3