Friday, October 17th, 2003 - Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk

Last Christmas, my gift to people I knew was a "2 hours with Doug" coupon. I said on there that you can have me do whatever you want for 2 hours (within appropriate reason, of course). Sadly, I have had very few people "cash them in," but the few that have have really allowed God to work in different ways! An awesome friend of mine recently used her coupon with a wonderful idea: we both spent that time in the Word reading the same Scripture (we picked Micah/Nahum/Habakkuk), and then emailed what God showed us each through that Scripture. I have posted here my description of what God showed me, unedited from the original email.

I hadn't ever read either of these three prophets' writings before, and I amazed at how they can fit together while each one still holds its own uniqueness (if that's a word) from the other two. I'll attempt to explain what God showed me in each one and then the three grouped together.

Micah could be summed up "hey, we're all screwed" - close to 6 chapters of negative consequences for unholy living. The 7th chapter is so profound for me; and not just the hope in God's compassion and mercy that is found so often in the "post-wrath" type description found in several places in the Old Testament. The part that really spoke to me was Micah's words in 7:8-9 when he says "Though I sit in darkness, the Lord himself will be my light. I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him. It shows me the reality that although often we experience the situation where we screw up and God just washes it all away, still sometimes there are times where we will suffer for our sins. That suffering is a privelege from God so that we will be more dependent on Him, falling more in love with Him, and therefore less likely to fall into that same sin again. The promise and prophecy of Christ's coming in 5:2 was also an awesome glimpse of what God has prepared for us so long ago.

Nahum, on the other hand, is almost all "destruction is on its way" declaration, with only a small deterrent in verse 1:3 "The Lord is slow to get angry, but...." God really showed me something cool here, nonetheless, in the fact that Nahum is talking about the city of Nineveh - the same city Jonah was sent to prophesy to. In looking back to God's mercy on Nineveh resulting from its repentance, Nahum's warning takes on so much more meaning. God used all this to strengthen me to not wander away; it is a big encouragement to persevere and never fail to acknowledge God in everything, constantly awaiting and being obedient to Him. I saw how much God doesn't want momentary repentance and shallow surrender; He wants my entire life all the time and nothing less - of course, in the most loving way.

Habakkuk is just awesome. First thing, this guy complains to God; he's not sugar-coating anything, just being totally honest and real with God about what he feels and sees around him. I sense the "come on God this sucks" type of attitude that I can see in myself at times in the past, and that made it real easy to relate to what he was complaining about. God didn't lie to him either - he told him that there's going to be times that are even worse. I love that; not the fact that things are going to get worse, but that God doesn't lie and say everything's going to be safe and peachy keen all the time. Yet, God still promises that His glory will be known to all nations, which I saw as an end-times foreshadowing.

My favorite part in these 3 short chapters is near the very end - 3:17-18; verse 17 says, in a nutshell, "even when everything is not going my way," and continues with verse 18, "yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk's response is amazing; "okay God, I accept whatever you know is coming my way, and I will take heart and complete joy in you no matter what it's like, no matter how much it sucks." And in verse 19, he's declaring the truth that God will be the source of strength in accomplishing this. This hit me so hard - this is exactly the essence of life in the Spirit, life in full communion with God! Habakkuk shows so vividly the example of uncircumstantial faith and complete surrender in acknowledging our own weakness and dependence.

Habakkuk's response capped everything off and pulled these three prophetical books together. "Hard times may be ahead, but I accept that Lord and will be joyful that you are not allowing me to be weak or self-dependent, but instead send trials my way to keep me focused and aware of my dependence on you." In this way, God "trample[s] our sins under [his] feet and throw[s] them into the depths of the ocean" (Micah 7:19). It was so encouraging to me to see this attitude lived out by this Habakkuk guy who lived so long ago, but whom I can relate to so well.

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