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Pause IV Day 2 Invitation To Be Astounded

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Pause IV, Day 2

I absolutely love the Lord’s response to Habakkuk! The Lord God, who sees all, and
knows all, and hears all, and is always continuously present, was not the least bit offended by Habakkuk’s angry outrage at Yahweh’s seeming disinterest.

Instead of reacting with arrogant wrath, the perfect God responds with a grand invitation.
Look around you, Habakkuk, wonder at what’s going on, prepare to be utterly astounded!

The Lord knows Habakkuk doesn’t understand the “why” behind Israel’s tragic, sinful rebellion, or more so, why the Lord hasn’t fixed everything yet. The Lord is patient, inviting Habakkuk to step back and remember only Yahweh is God. He is in control, He holds the end game victory, and the battle will be waged in His way.

Yes, the means by which God would bring His just righteousness upon Israel was going to shock poor Habakkuk, leaving him wrestling internally. But God, undeterred, would continue to build His kingdom and pave the way for the future coming of redemption through His Son Jesus.

Habakkuk brought the fullness of his honesty before the Lord and was answered with grace. If you knew the Lord would respond the same to you, what would you bring?

Grab your Bible, a journal and pen,
and open your heart to bask in the presence of the Almighty!

Today's Challenge

1) Pull out your Bible and read Habakkuk 1 fully through 2 times. Then focus in on reading verse 5 several times through. Go slow. Emphasis different words each time you read it. Savor the message, and pray as you read it. Write out all of verse 5 in your journal.

2) Each time you re-read verse 5, write down everything that pops out at you, makes you curious, or wonder “why?”. When you’re finished, go back through and you’ll be amazed at the new things the Spirit is leading you into knowing about Him!

3) Pay special attention to how the Lord demonstrated gracious kindness in His response to Habakkuk. Be reminded, and encouraged, that the Lord’s ways and His goals, are not the ones we would think of or choose, but His loving pursuit of us never changes.

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Habakkuk 1

The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violence
and you do not save?
3 Why do you force me to look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict the righteous;
therefore, justice comes out perverted.

God’s First Answer
5 Look at the nations and observe—
be utterly astounded!
For I am doing something in your days
that you will not believe
when you hear about it.
6 Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter, impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards
and more fierce than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like eagles, swooping to devour.
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces are set in determination.
They gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty; their strength is their god.


Habakkuk’s Second Prayer
12 Are you not from eternity, Lord my God?
My Holy One, you will not die.
Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock, you destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,
and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous?
Why are you silent
while one who is wicked swallows up
one who is more righteous than himself?
14 You have made mankind
like the fish of the sea,
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,
and gather them in their fishing net;
that is why they are glad and rejoice.
16 That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet
and burn incense to their fishing net,
for by these things their portion is rich
and their food plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their net
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?

How Does “Pause” Work?
1. Each day, Monday through Friday, for 3 weeks, we will provide you with a simple challenge. Each challenge is designed for you to engage with the Almighty in a deeper way and perhaps in a new way than you have been recently.

2. Having a journal is a must! You’ll want to take notes as you walk this special Journey of Pause.

3. Each week focuses on one or two passage of Scripture and we walk with you as you study and flesh these out for yourself. As you write your thoughts, read His Word, and pray, questions might come up. That’s Perfect! Ask a trusted fellow believer, a pastor, or send us an email as you work through them!

4. Jumping in at the middle? No problem! Here is the entire Journey Theme.

5. Connect with others on Facebook by visiting our GT Community Group!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Pause IV Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies
in Pause IV!

Tabernacle Day 1 All About Relationship!

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 John 4:13-21
Genesis 15
Romans 4 

Tabernacle, Day 1

Confession: I’m a rule-follower.
I don’t like to color outside the lines. Black and White, that’s my safety zone.

My growing up, rules didn’t define the relationship, rules were the relationship.
And fear enforced them.

When I read about the Ten Commandments, it made natural sense that if you were going to follow God, you had to follow the rules.
Be good.
Obey.
Follow the signs.
Don’t color outside the lines.
Perform. Perform. Perform.
Confess. Confess. Confess.
And if you’re good enough, then God will show you favor. Maybe.

In fact, I distinctly remember inviting a friend to church with me when I was in 5th grade.
The very first thing I did when he got there, was hand him a copy of the Ten Commandments from my Bible. If he was going to be in church, He would need that list first.

As I got older and studied the Bible more, I had a big problem…..
Why was the God of the Old Testament so intent on making everyone follow the rules?
(And there were A LOT of rules!)
Yet, the God of the New Testament, was so kind and gracious, loving and forgiving.
Why did He change?

Years passed and my 5th-grade-self grew older, accepting that, despite the appearance of change in the New Testament, the vengeful God of the Old Testament was still lurking, waiting to pounce on my missteps.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God had to love us. He was obligated to.
But, deep down, He was mad at us.
He was mad at me. 
I decided I was always just one mess-up away from His Old Testament wrath to be unleashed.

My legacy of fear and performance held me tight, 
coloring everything, including my marriage. 
Seven years into a marriage that was careening quickly towards divorce, with my past entangling me at every turn, I found myself sitting on a small couch across from an incredibly kind counselor. Imagine my surprise when I learned in that counselor’s office, that black and white thinking was actually harmful to a healthy relationship!
Suddenly, the black and white seams that had clearly outlined my definition of “relationship”, began to unravel.

As I sorted through what this truth meant for my marriage and other relationships, I was also forced to tear down everything I thought I’d understood about God.
One evening, as my husband was talking about God and the Old Testament, he explained quite matter-of-factly, that the Ten Commandments were the result of a relationship that had begun centuries earlier. 
I was rocked to the core at what this could mean. 

God didn’t base His love on my performance?
God wasn’t waiting to rain down fire on me?
His love was exactly that….love. 
WITHOUT FEAR?! 
I was undone. 

How could my husband be so confident?
God’s Word speaks for itself:

“For what does the Scripture say? 
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.
Now to the one who works, pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. 
But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who declares the ungodly to be righteous, his faith is credited for righteousness.” (Romans 4:3-5)

Abraham didn’t earn God’s favor.
There wasn’t one thing Abraham did to become righteous in God’s eyes;
he simply took God at His word.
Genesis records God saying to Abraham, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” 
Abraham’s response?
“Abram believed the Lord, and He (the Lord) credited it to him (Abraham) as righteousness.”

Following this incredible exchange of belief and radical grace, Abraham questioned the Lord, asking Him what the sign would be that the Lord would do this incredible thing of making Abraham’s offspring innumerable. The Lord God, gracious again, provided Abraham with a covenant. An everlasting, unbreakable vow, as proof that He would indeed do as He promised.
(The actual covenant story is pretty amazing! Check it out!)

Fast forward 430 years from the night that covenant was cut to the day Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. The Lord was leading His people, who were just the beginning of Father Abraham’s offspring, out of slavery in Egypt and into the land God had promised them in the covenant. (Genesis 15:7)

The Ten Commandments were given as a result of the relationship that had begun long before with a man named Abraham and his faith in the God who could do the incredible.
These commandments were the proof of a relationship that already existed, 
not the means to become righteous before God.

In fact, Paul would later use these same commandments to prove that, through the Law, we are able to recognize sin for what it is…a falling short of God’s perfection. (Romans 3:19-20) 
Once we can identify sin, we see how holy the Lord is, and how desperate our need for Him.

Just like Abraham, we too can take the Lord at His word.
He is offering us salvation by taking the punishment for our rightly deserved sin upon Himself. He will credit our faith as righteousness! 

To the Lord God, it has always been about a relationship.
From Abraham, to Moses, to Jesus, to you and me, the relationship has always been primary. The rules are simply an overflow of how to live inside that relationship of grace!

No, He’s not mad at us.
He’s not obligated to love us; He just does because He IS love.
He freely offers us grace, that we, as an overflow of love and adoration to Him,
might follow Him in obedience and live a life that honors Him!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Tabernacle Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Tabernacle!