Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 (NRSV)
Read Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 1The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. Verse 2O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? Verse 3Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. Verse 4So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous- therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
Chapter 2I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Verse 2Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. Verse 3For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Verse 4Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.
Devotion
I write in midsummer as headlines tell of more officers shot in Baton Rouge and the terror and losses of Nice, France. In June, I was with a friend recovering from her spouse's suicide. In August I'll companion another in ritual abuse recovery (Really? That's a thing? Sadly, yes.) I wonder what headlines and trials will burden the fall.
I'm grateful for moments when I'm not numb, when I can lament with the prophet’s passion: "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save..." I’m grateful that God does hear, that Jesus cried out with the same passion, that we sometimes find faith for life in dark days.
How do you feel? What is your cry?
Prayer
Lord, thaw our hearts to cry for help. Give us patience to wait, faith to live. For Jesus' sake. Amen.