THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH
There are seasons when trusting God is easy because we can see what He is doing. The prayer is answered. The door opens. The situation changes. The path forward becomes clear.
But what happens when none of that happens?
What do we do when God’s plan doesn’t make sense, His timing seems slow, and our circumstances haven’t changed?
That is where Habakkuk finds himself in Habakkuk 2. He has brought his questions to God, but he still doesn’t understand what God is doing. God’s answer to Habakkuk is ultimately a call to faith:
“The righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4, ESV)
In other words, the just shall trust.
#1: WAIT FOR GOD
Habakkuk begins chapter 2 at the watchpost:
“I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me.” (Habakkuk 2:1, ESV)
Habakkuk has questions, but he doesn’t walk away from God because he doesn’t understand God. He stays at his post and waits.
There is an important difference between questioning God and abandoning God. Faith does not mean pretending we don’t have questions. Faith means continuing to trust God while we wait for answers.
Some of us want God to answer immediately. We pray today and expect clarity tomorrow. But sometimes God doesn’t immediately change the situation or explain what He is doing.
Sometimes God simply says, “Wait.”
Waiting is not wasted time when you are waiting on God.
#2: TRUST GOD’S TIMING
God tells Habakkuk:
“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3, ESV)
There was an appointed time for what God was going to do.
Habakkuk had a timetable. Babylon had a timetable. You and I have timetables. But God has an appointed time, and His timing isn’t determined by our impatience.
What seems late to us is still on time with God.
We often interpret delay as denial, but God’s delays are not necessarily God’s denials. God may seem late to us, but God is never late.
Sometimes we want God to tell us when. God wants us to remember Who.
We don’t have to understand God’s timetable to trust God’s character.
#3: LIVE BY FAITH
At the center of Habakkuk’s message is one of the most important declarations in Scripture:
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4, ESV)
God presents two ways to live. The proud person trusts himself. The righteous person trusts God.
We are saved by faith, but we also live by faith. Faith isn’t merely how we begin the Christian life; faith is how we live the Christian life.
That is why this verse becomes so important in the New Testament. Its truth appears again in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38.
Habakkuk cannot see the ending. He doesn’t know how everything will work out. He doesn’t understand everything God is doing.
But he can trust the God who does.
The same is true for us. Biblical faith does not say, “I understand everything God is doing.” Biblical faith says, “I trust God even when I don’t understand what He is doing.”
#4: DON’T ENVY THE WICKED
Habakkuk’s great concern was that Babylon appeared to be getting away with evil. They were powerful,
But God makes it clear that appearances are deceiving.
The remainder of Habakkuk 2 contains five declarations of judgment against Babylon. God condemns their greed, dishonest gain, violence and injustice, exploitation, and idolatry.
Babylon looked permanent, but Babylon was temporary.
God reminds Habakkuk:
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14, ESV)
Babylon’s glory would disappear. God’s glory will fill the earth.
That changes how we look at history and how we look at our own circumstances. Evil may appear to prosper for a season, but it does not get the final word.
God sees injustice. God will judge evil. God’s Kingdom is eternal.
#5: REMEMBER WHO IS STILL ON THE THRONE
After all the questions, confusion, violence, pride, injustice, and noise, God closes the chapter with this declaration:
“But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20, ESV)
That may be the most important reminder in the entire chapter.
God is still on His throne.
God hasn’t left. God hasn’t lost control. God hasn’t been defeated. God isn’t pacing heaven wondering what He should do next.
Eventually, our questions have to become quiet before the sovereignty of God—not because our questions weren’t legitimate or our pain wasn’t real, but because God is God.
Habakkuk’s circumstances haven’t changed by the end of the chapter. Judah is still corrupt. Babylon is still coming. The future is still difficult.
But Habakkuk now knows something more important.
God sees. God knows. God has an appointed time. God will judge evil. God will fill the earth with His glory. And God is still on His throne.
So what do righteous people do while they wait?
They trust.
We trust God when we understand, and we trust Him when we don’t. We trust Him when the answer comes quickly, and we trust Him when He says wait. We trust Him when we can see what He is doing, and we trust Him when we cannot see anything at all.
