Barometer of Faith
The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrongdoing
and look at trouble?
—Habakkuk 1:1-3
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails,
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold,
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.
—Habakkuk 3:17-19
Leaving the grocery store with my mask on, I noticed the western horizon at sunset was incredibly orange. Beautiful I thought. As I drove a curve in the road revealed the orange ball of the setting sun partially hidden by a large black plume of smoke. A wildfire raged a few miles west of us. As residents a couple miles away evacuated, wind pushed the fire south creating a strikingly haunting scene. After unloading groceries, we stood watching the scene, social distance courtesy of viral pandemic, wondering whether the wind would shift towards us before the fire was controlled.
Our response to fearful situations is a barometer of our faith. How do you respond to situations that cause others to tremble in terror? The answer reveals the condition of our faith.
As John Wesley traveled home from America, a storm rocked the ship. He trembled in fear but a group of fellow passengers sang hymns, praised God, worshiped and thanked God for all their blessings. They calmly gathered in peace, resting firmly on their confidence in God and trusting in His promises while the storm tossed the ship around them. They were beacons of God’s light shining in the chaotic darkness and Wesley saw the gap between his faith and theirs and he desired more. The frightening situation was a barometer of faith.
Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Wesley failed to grasp His peace during the storm, but he saw others who possessed it. As the darkness of chaos and uncertainty surrounds you, how do you respond?
God’s holy word describes Habakkuk as a prophet who saw at least one oracle from God. He was a Godly man living in a time of great trouble. He was surrounded by dark chaos, great evil, injustice, and people prospering from evil deeds they perpetrated. In anguish, he cried out to God asking honest questions. “How long…?” “Why…?”
Habakkuk accused God of ignoring his cry for help. He could not understand how pure and holy God was able to look at and allow treacherous wickedness, and why God allowed wicked people to prosper. The thought that God would allow humans to prosper from activity completely contrary to God’s being simply would not fit in Habakkuk’s mind. So he prayed, acknowledging that God is worthy of his awe and praise, acknowledging that God’s glory fills the heavens and God’s brightness is like the sun (see v.3:3-4), and detailing specific ways God is all-powerful. He concludes his prayer saying, “I wait quietly…” (v.3:16).
Immediately after promising that he will wait on God and trust in Him, Habakkuk describes the horrific conditions he lives in. He describes true famine. Vines and trees have stopped bearing fruit, fields no longer yield food and the livestock is gone. This is a time of true need. They have no food. How does he respond to the horrific conditions surrounding him? Habakkuk says,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.
He rejoices in the Lord. He exults in God. He wallows in, gloats, revels in the Lord, who is his salvation, strength and the One who steadies his feet. The pantry is bare and Habakkuk sees no signs indicating food will appear tomorrow, yet he rejoices in God because of who God is.
God is who He is when we have more than we need, and God continues to be who He is when trouble surrounds us. God is still the same God, but does your faith change in response to your circumstances? Habakkuk’s lament is genuine, transparent and faithful. He cries out to God trusting completely that God hears his cry, trusting completely that God has all power and authority to respond, and trusting completely that God will respond in His perfect time. And after crying out to God, looking at his empty pantry, surrounded by wicked people prospering from evil, he trusts, waits quietly, and rejoices and exults in God. He knows, with absolute certainty in the depths of his soul that the final chapter has been written and God will rein victorious. He just does not know when it will happen, so he is content to wait.
This forces me to ask, what is the basis of my faith? Is my faith based on tangible evidence of God’s blessing in the form of material abundance, or is it based on my certainty that God is who He says He is? What about you? Do we know in the depths of our souls who God is and place our faith in Him, or do we construct our own notion of God based on the evidence of tangible blessing in our possession? If we base faith on tangible evidence of blessing, our faith may suffer in times of need, and if faith grows or fades in response to material influences, is it really faith?
Habakkuk surveyed empty stalls, barren fields, fruitless olive trees and rejoiced in the Lord our God, knowing that God’s promises are true, knowing that God is his strength. Wesley’s fellow passengers peacefully sang hymns as the storm tossed the ship on the ocean, seizing the peace of Christ that transcends.
I pray for each person impacted by the fire. As the chaotic darkness envelops you, may you know the peace of Jesus Christ, may you be a beacon of His light, may you exult in our Lord.