Habakkuk 1, 2, 3 How long shall I wait?

I don't know about you, but waiting is hard.  Several months, back I challenged us as a congregation to make ourselves wait.  Not too long ago, I remember being at Nilssen's and actually waving people in front of me.  After about 5 minutes, I could begin noticing physically that I was loosing my patience to wait.  My hands started to sweat; I could feel the irritability starting to rise out of my stomach and go into my head; and I started glancing at my phone a little to much.  Wow, and this was only five minutes.  I can see I have a long ways to go in extending out how patient I am in living my daily life.

In today's text, we talk again about patience but in a difference context.  We are talking about being patient when injustice or evil is rearing its ugly head.  I don't know about you, but I think I have less patience when it comes for this type of stuff.  When injustice happens or evil happens I want God to step in and make amends now.  I don't want to see people suffer.    I believe also that God doesn't want people to suffer.  However, living in a world that is coated in sin, suffering happens.  Evil and injustice happen and happen too frequently.

Our text from Habakkuk reminds us, that even though evil happens, this is not the end.  God does not tolerate evil, and that it will be eradicated.  The one thing God doesn't say though, that this process is quick and painless.  It took many years and decades for the Nazi regime to be tossed from power.  However it was.  I think this is what Habakkuk is trying to tell us today, that evil is not going to win and that God's justice and mercy will reign supreme.  Habakkuk also reminds us that this process can be long and heart breaking.  So how do we then deal with situations that are heart breaking to us; that shines forth injustice; or shows off the evil in this world?

We need to trust in God, by praying and by working to support God's mission in the world.  The Habakkuk text doesn't invite us to inaction, on the opposite, it reminds us to act as God wants us to with justice and hope.  What this text really does for us is remind us that God's justice might take a awhile but don't lose hope because in the end God's will and justice prevail.  So what is God calling you to do with an injustice or an evil that you see around you?