Thoughts for another day

October 3, 2011

Today's verse: Hab. 3:2. LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.  Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.  (NIV – copyright acknowledged)

(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Right in the midst of great tribulation, Habakkuk is complaining to the Lord about the injustices done to the people and how the abuse of the sword of justice is causing great pain to the people and also to the good among them.

Consequently, the Lord tells him first of the doom the Chaldeans will subject the Judeans to and the pain they will undergo for their sins wherein they despised God and completely ignored His laws.  God warns Him of His chastisement for their sins and tells the prophet of tremendous destruction but at the same time also guarantees that the just shall not perish and He will safeguard them when they repent.

Our Scripture today comes as a song from the heart of Habakkuk where he tells the Lord that He has heard of His fame and He stands in awe of His deeds.  He asks the Lord to renew them that time and even as He is angry, to also remember mercy.  It reminds us too of God's tremendous patience in dealing with us and our sins that are so many as to make it difficult for us to count them all.  But even in this God provides a way out in His mercy and when the load of sin is too heavy to bear He sends us His Grace to be able to stay away from wrong.  See, God's patience and love are too great to even fathom and truly as even when we were in sin, Jesus came down to save us, so too, God will stretch forth His hand and rescue us.