A God of wrath...

Ok, yeah.

I'm up at 1:30am writing this post.

When I climbed into the bed earlier, I actually

worried that I would fall asleep before I

finished my prayers.

Hmmmph.

God had different ideas.

I hadn't prayed very far when God revealed

this epiphany to me, and I couldn't fall asleep

no matter how long I laid there and assured

God that I would write the post tomorrow

Really, I will!!

He knows me too well.

By tomorrow I would have forgotten all the

really important connections I made tonight,

cause that's what I always do!

My brain seems to work best

(unfortunately for me!)
after I go to bed and if I wait

until the next day to try and write things out

they just don't usually come out the way

I wanted them to.

So here I am.

And I pray God continues to make the

synapses fire in my brain correctly so I

can say exactly what He wants me to say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This past Sunday our pastor began a series of

sermons on the book of Habakkuk.

What book, you say?

Yeah, that tiny little 1 1/2 page book

stuck between the much more popular books

Nahum and Zephaniah.

Hmm.

Now, don't get me wrong.

I've heard of Habakkuk, and am certain

I have read it at some point before, but it

must not have made a huge impression.

Cause I certainly didn't get it.

In the book, Habakkuk is crying out to God

because the nation of Judah has become a nation

of crime, injustice, and ungodliness.

These were the people of God, and they

were turning their backs on God in blatantly sinful ways.

Sound familiar?

Know any other nations founded on

Godly principles who have turned away from God?

Uh-huh, I thought you might.

So Habakkuk, a prophet, was crying out to God.

He was basically crying out,

"Where are you, God?"

"Do you not see how bad it's gotten down here??"

"Aren't you going to do something about it???"

And God's answer is frightening.

He tells Habakkuk that His judgement is on it's way,

and the people of Judah are NOT going to like it.

It's going to come in the form of the Chaldeans-

better known as the Babylonian army.

They were well known for their horrific

practices against the people they were conquering.

God likens them to leopards for their speed,

wolves for their voracious appetite for killing,

and an eagle swooping down upon helpless prey

because most nations were defenseless against them.

Habakkuk goes back and cries out again

because he cannot believe that God would really

allow such atrocities to happen to His own people.

God's reply basically says that He would rather

bring this unbelievable punishment down upon His

people than have them continue to live the

way they are living.

Brother Rich said his Old Testament professor

in seminary explained that the message of the

book is basically God's way of saying that He

will punish sin, and that the people

of Judah would much rather the Babylonian

army do their worst than have God

come and turn His full wrath upon them!

It's a bit frightening.

Kind of like God is saying,

"Don't make ME come down there."

A God of wrath.

So often we hear about the God of love,

and He most certainly is!!

But we should never forget that God HATES sin.

There is always punishment to follow.

And in America today, I wonder if we haven't

become like Judah.

And if we aren't due for some punishment.

We are turning our backs on God more

and more on a daily basis.

One day, we will certainly face God's wrath.

But here's what my moment of enlightenment

tonight was about.

One verse that Bro. Rich talked about at some length

was verse 1:5

"Look among the nations and watch-

Be utterly astounded!

For I will work a work in your days

Which you would not believe, though it were told you."

In the context it was written,

God was telling Habakkuk that

even though Habakkuk couldn't see God

at work, He already had a plan in motion.

And it was going to get so bad that Habakkuk

wouldn't believe it even if someone told him about it.

It is quite ominous in that context-and I believe

that is how God intended it to be.

But the other day, I was reading a post by

Christie Rose over at

The Secret Life of an American Wife and Mom,

(the June 9th post)

I was astounded to see this same verse

from this tiny, unassuming book

from the old testament!

Coincidence?

I think not!

You see, Christie Rose uses this verse in a

beautiful post about God revealing Himself to

her in the most wonderful ways.

A God of humor, a God of happiness,

and what God showed me tonight,

a God of so much hope.

This verse was meant as a stern warning.

But it also gives us hope.

Because what it really says is that when

things are at their worst, God is still working.

When things are not going our way,

God is still moving.

And when things feel frightening and

overwhelming, God is still there.

If you read the whole of Habakkuk,

(all 1 1/2 pages :)

you will see this message over and over again.

God continually reassures Habakkuk that not

only is He there, and His plan is perfect,

(even when we cannot see it)

but after the worst is over, He will be there

to put the pieces back together.

Oh, thank you, God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I so hope this was coherent.

And I pray it was the message that

God wanted me to put out there. I know it

was LONG, but it was so on my heart, and

I hope you were blessed by it.

TTFN,

P.S. If you haven't entered my Father's Day

giveaway, click here to enter!!