I’m continuing to mull over Habakkuk.
Habakkuk 1:5 says:
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.
All of my life (I think – maybe just all of my adult life), I’ve avoided keeping up with the news. It’s sensational, it’s skewed, it’s depressing. I’d rather not know. This verse convicted me of preferring to keep my head buried in the sand rather than opening my eyes to see what God is doing and be astounded. Interestingly, Habakkuk complains in the first section about what he sees, and God continues with that theme – telling Habakkuk to look and see even more.
God’s not pretending that what will astound Habakkuk is pleasant or beautiful. He’s not glossing over the evilness of the Chaldean nation. But He’s showing that He’s in control, and using even evil nations for His purposes.
In my conviction to be willing to look and see what God is doing, I installed the BBC world news app on my phone. I haven’t read it much yet – two or three times. But I do look at the “breaking news” flashes they send. I like the idea of being astounded by what God is doing, but not of seeing that types of things that Habakkuk got to see. The nations today are just as evil as they were back then (nothing new under the sun). But God is also just as good, and just as in control. And I can be astounded both at his using evil nations as pawns and at His masterful plan. I can allow myself to be burdened, then be astounded, and instead of wallowing in dismay at what I see, I can turn and look to God, like Habakkuk does.