ICS Daily Devotions
Learning God’s Will in Humbleness
Habakkuk 2:1-4 (NKJV) I will stand my watch. And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, It will not tarry. “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.
Humbling ourselves before God will enable us to hear from God more clearly. We don’t need to wait until we come to the end of our strength and ability. Our attitude should be like Habakkuk’s who humbled himself and expected God to correct him.
The Israelites, known for their stubbornness and rebellion, didn’t humble themselves before God until they were faced with adversity. God’s protection against them was lifted whenever they violated the Mosaic Covenant. If we want God to be involved in our situation, we must not let our pride get in the way. Pride will lead God to turn His face away from us.
When we are committed to living a consecrated life after receiving Christ, we will be humble enough to yield to God even before we get caught between the rock and a hard place. If we do not live a life set apart for God, our flesh will try to reign because the flesh’s desire is to live a life independent of God. The Bible says that we were all like sheep that have gone astray and each of us walked on our own path. It is the sinful nature in man that caused us to walk away from God and to live independently of God.
God has a will for us laid out in heaven but it takes men and women of God to walk out the will in their lives. This is the reason Jesus taught us to pray that “may your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” For His will to be executed in our lives, we need to choose to be yoked with God.
Habakkuk lived in a violent society. There was endemic and systemic violence around him. He questioned God. Although we do not carry the burden of a nation like Habakkuk, we can make a positive impact in society and at work by intentionally living for Christ and loving others as ways of overcoming evil. As Habakkuk questioned God about the injustice and violence around him, God spoke to him. God gave Habakkuk a plan outlined by God Himself. He saw the plan in a vision – this is one of the ways God can speak to us and reveal His will.
In the presence of God, there is nothing to hide. We can be our true self and even question God, just as Habakkuk did, about the frustrations and disappointments that we might be facing right now. God doesn’t mind listening to us as we share our side of the story, but we need to be humble enough to listen to His reply and expect to be rebuked by Him, if necessary. And if we are humble enough to let God lead us, God will give us a detailed outline of His plan and will for us. This map that God provides will point us in the right direction.
Let us not wait until we come to the end of our ability to humble ourselves before our Almighty God. We should be open to His correction, rebuke and obey His instructions when we live out the consecrated life. God has a good plan for our lives.
Sermon: Caught Between the Rock and a Hard Place
