How Long?

How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to You, "Violence!" but You do not save? Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. Habakkuk 1:2-4



Have you ever wondered why people who are doing wrong seem to just get off scott free? At times it may even seem that they are prospering. All the while, their victims suffer the consequences of their actions, sometimes for years. I don't know about you, but my heart cries out for God to give those evil people what they deserve. But...then I remember that God didn't give me what I deserved. And I recall His patience toward me. I may have had this misconstrued notion that my sins weren't nearly as bad as the other evil people I see, but I have to see my sin as God does. Man measures sin. With God, I don't think he measures it as we do. Hatred is equal to murder. Lust is equal to adultery. You see what I'm saying? If God gave everyone exactly what they deserved when they deserved it, we'd all be in big trouble, wouldn't we? Still, it's hard to see all the injustice around us. So what do we do?



Let's take a look at God's response to Habakkuk in verses 5-11:



"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.For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat."They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
Ascribing this power to his god."

Okay, so this wasn't the response Habakkuk was hoping to hear. The Baylonians were a wicked people. So how could the Lord possibly use them to bring about punishment to those who were more righteous than they were? It just didn't seem fair to Habakkuk. And isn't that how we sometimes feel? That God's way of dealing with things just isn't fair. But I think God knows a lot better than we do what needs to happen. And, as Christians we can read the Word and see the outcome. So no matter how bleak things may seem, no matter how unjust, we can trust that there is coming a day of judgement for those who have done evil and who have not repented and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And even though it may not feel like that day will ever come, we can believe that it will. In the meantime, we can pray. Prayer is a powerful tool. We need to pray for the situations we see happening around us, but also pray that God would direct us as to what action we personally need to take. We need to speak out against injustice whenever and wherever we see it. Don't sit around waiting for someone else to say or do something. Don't pretend you don't notice. The other day I spoke with a young woman I knew many years ago who had been physically and emotionally abused as a child. I saw this abuse happening, and even though I spoke out against it to the person abusing her, I didn't take it further than that. The abuser needed help. But more importantly, the children in her care needed rescue from this abuse. And I regret not having raised such a stink that someone would take notice and remove them from the situation. I regret those years they had to suffer because no one was willing to step up to the plate and take action. Oh, don't get me wrong, many tried to speak into the abusers life. Many pointed out the sin she was committing. But that's usually where it stopped. The abuser was a professed believer who refused the correction of the church. She rejected what God's Word had to say on the subject. At this point, it should have been the church's place to get outside help. To just run her off from the church (by speaking against it) did nothing to remedy the situation. I have repented for not doing more than I did, but the children are pretty emotionally messed up as a result of this abuse and I can't change that. My heart breaks when I think of the years of torment those children suffered. My heart breaks when I see the adults they have become. And you know, my heart even breaks when I think about the abuser. How could someone who knew God's Word commit such horrible acts? I question her salvation. And that's where part two comes in. We can reach out to the ones doing wrong. A friend of mine has this saying, "Rules without relationship lead to rebellion." It is so much easier to speak into a person's life when you have an established relationship with them. If you just come up to a person and start belting out all their sin, how likely do you think it is that they will listen? Most times they would lash out at you. And what would be accomplished? We need to find ways to build up trust. The person needs to know that our intention isn't merely to pass judgement, but rather, a genuine concern for their soul. When they see true concern for them, they are more willing to hear. In some cases, this may be extremely difficult, as was the case with the abuser I was referring to. But we at least need to make the effort.

There's so much more I can say, but time has gotten away from me and I need to close out for now. Perhaps I will post more on this subject later...we'll see.