O give thanks to the God of heaven.
Your steadfast love endures forever.
(Psalm 136:26)
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
"O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?"
The prophet laments that he sees destruction and violence all around him. The law is not protecting the righteous from the wicked. And he wants to know why the Lord isn't fixing things right now.
We continue to see injustice. We turn to God both because we think that God would not approve of anyone causing injustice and because we think that God has the power and the willingness to change the situation.
So, we have this reading from Habakkuk that gives us permission to complain, to cry out, and to question God, that gives us words that were said long ago for a specific situation but fit our own specific troubles in our lives.
Habakkuk was willing to wait for an answer and did receive one. The Lord told him to tell others that they, too, would have a vision, but that they too should be prepared to wait.
Good news or hard message? The proud do not see the need for God's help. The righteous, however, live their lives faithfully.
Revelation 9:1-21
Vision of more woes to come. Even after plagues, the humans just would not repent. They continued to care more about their own wealth than the welfare of others.
Psalm 137:1-9
Legitimate anguish. Troubling effect on the one doing the praying.
Proverbs 30: 10
Do not slander a servant to a master,
or the servant will curse you,
and you will be held guilty.
Prayer for Today: O Lord, when we look around us, we see violence and injustice. We can't bear the pain much longer. Fix things for us. Fix us. Amen.
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