“Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily.” Psalm 102:2
Where He Takes Me, Part 2
Yesterday, I told the story of how God used a worship song at church to speak to me about the purpose of something new and difficult I was walking through. He “answered me speedily” when I called to Him, asking Him to enlighten me about the purpose of this new trial.
That’s not the end of the story. Now that He’d shown me that He and I would walk together through this experience and that I would be changed by it, I was no longer afraid for the other person, nor was my heart in pain any longer. I felt like a student, expectantly tuned in to the teacher for new knowledge and growth. I knew I would learn things that would serve me well in other areas of life. I also knew that I should pay attention, because this knowledge would be required of me some day, whether in a new trial in my own life, or to help someone else through their trials.
Monday morning, as I sat down to my daily time with Jesus, I asked Him where I should read next. I had just finished a particular book of the Bible, and I always ask Him, “What’s next?” Having no clear answer, I randomly flipped my Bible open and it fell to the first page of Habakkuk. I smiled, because the Lord answered me so specifically. It was as if He said, “Start right here at the beginning.”
I began as I always do, by reading the background information so that I could get a feel for where this book sits in history, and why God breathed it out into the Holy Scriptures.
I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw how precisely the words fit my exact situation. Allow me to quote a few lines, because this is His specific answer to me about why I had to enter the schoolroom of pain.
“The Book of Habakkuk gives the account of a spiritual journey, telling of one man’s pilgrimage from doubt to worship.”
“The prophet is no longer controlled by or even anxious over his circumstances, for his sights have been raised. Temporal affairs no longer fill his thoughts, but his thoughts are on things above.”
“Habakkuk reminds us that the question ‘Why?’ can, should, and must be asked… Because he believed in God, he believed that God had an answer to his problem. His questions demonstrated the presence of faith, not the lack of it.”
“It is possible to rise above circumstances, and even to rejoice in them, by focusing on God who stands above all… (Habakkuk) finds God sufficient in the midst of his troubles.”*
I know I still have this trial to walk through. But I also have the sure word of the Father that I am to look up and rejoice, for God is sufficient for me. He has already moved me to a new place in this trial: from pain to joy, from questions to trust.
Thank You for giving me such specific, detailed words in answer to my heart’s cry. I know I can trust You in all things. Amen.