How Long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! Hab. 1:2 NIV
Did you know the average person spends 5 years waiting in lines? What kind of lines? Subway station lines, amusement park lines, driver’s license renewal lines, grocery checkout lines, ticket window lines and the list continue, seemingly, infinitely. We spend 22 years of our lives sleeping, 14 years working, 6 years eating, 1 year searching for misplaced objects, 6 years watching television, 2 years returning calls, 8 months opening junk mail and 3 years in meetings. Did you know that the average person spends 6 months at traffic lights waiting for the light to turn green? Have you ever been frustrated by waiting? Have you ever felt that your prayer wasn’t heard? Have you ever cried out to God and asked, “Why don’t you do something?” That’s what the prophet Habakkuk did.
This dusty itinerant prophet looked to heaven and cried, “How long, 0 Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen” (Hab. 1:2)? Habakkuk had the same problem you and I do. He couldn’t see the big picture and he was tired of waiting. Although Habakkuk had no way of knowing, God was doing something! His plan to resolve the blatant sin problem of Judah would be swift. Notice what He reveals to Habakkuk: “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it” (Hab. 1:5, NLT). God was working in Habakkuk’s day just like he is working in your life. Be encouraged, the Bible says: “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength” {Isaiah 40:31).
