High places

"Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places." Habakkuk 3:18,19

I have just finished a Bible study on the book of Habakkuk and it was an eye opening and heart touching time. I have learned so much about faith through the years but found myself completely perplexed over some aspects of faith I have not previously applied to my life. I was stunned by the idea that faith not only included trusting God to save me and to provide my physical, financial and spiritual needs but that I needed to trust God to provide for ALL my needs. I need to live out my life entirely in faith. It takes faith to have victory over sin and self. It takes faith to love the unlovely. It takes faith to submit. I found myself begging the Lord for wisdom and understanding so I could truly apply, "but the just shall live by his faith." Habakkuk 2:4 b

Right away the Lord brought to mind verses that I have already memorized and in some ways applied to my life. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1, "for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Romans 14:23b I definitely know those verses and have lived them but now I see them in a new light. Now I see them as Habakkuk applied them to his life and the overwhelming circumstances he was facing.

He went up into a tower and waited for the Lord to speak to him. That's faith. He waited for the Lord to show him what he should say when he was reproved. That's faith. He listened as God pronounced woes (2:6, 9, 12, 15, 19). As God proclaimed that He would judge the sin not only of Israel but also of the Chaldeans (Babylonians). He heard God tell him that the whole earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God (2:14) AMEN! He believed the Lord. He obeyed Him.

When God finished speaking to Habakkuk he had no question of God's faithfulness, of His character, His omnipotence, His Holiness. We've seen this before in Scripture most notably with Isaiah. Those who get a glimpse of Who God really is, in His entirety - Holy, Just, Love and Grace - they become different people, they repent. Chapter 3 shows all that Habakkuk learned of God. His song is punctuated with faith (see the verse at top).

I'm most certainly challenged to live a much different life. When I'm being tried do I really rejoice in the Lord? Is every aspect of my life, every decision, every choice, every desire one of faith? Do I remember to go to the tower and wait on the Lord for Him to speak to me? Do I realize that He will give me stability and strength to stand in the most difficult of places? Do I submit to His will for my life or just to those easy areas? Do I wait on the Lord for the strength that only He can give?

I still have not grasped all that it means to live all aspects of my life out in faith, but I do know that God is faithful to help me. I look back at all the times God has cared for me. And I have hope for the future, and joy in the trials.