Habakkuk 1:1-5 – “This is the oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw:  ² How long, Lord, must I cry for help?  But you do not listen!  I call out to you, “Violence!”  But you do not deliver!  ³ Why do you force me to witness injustice?  Why do you put up with wrongdoing?  Destruction and violence confront me; conflict is present and one must endure strife.  ⁴ For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out.  Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent.  For this reason justice is perverted.  ⁵ “Look at the nations and pay attention!  You will be shocked and amazed!  For I will do something in your lifetime that you will not believe even though you are forewarned.”

Is this the morning the trumpet will sound?  No one knows, and few truly think it is.  But one day, the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will rise, and we will gather in the clouds with Jesus.  Ready or not, here He comes!

Our world is in a mess!  It is not getting better.  There is no deliverer to bring us into the promised land.  The depravity of the human heart is growing increasingly darker.

Sometimes, we are like the prophet Habakkuk crying,“How long, O Yahweh?”   I see it, you see it, but God, You are not doing anything about it.   Actually, He is, just not the way we thought He would or should.

God said, “Just look and be astounded!  I am doing something right now.  Something you would not believe if I detailed it to you.” We stop there, but the next verse reveals what God is doing.  He is unleashing judgment through human agency!

The prophet Nahum offers a stark contrast in God’s response and attitude toward His enemies and His friends.   Nahum 1:2-3, He is fearful and ferocious toward His enemies.  Nahum 1:7-8, He is gracious to His friends.

Jesus told the disciples, as He looked at the hungry lost crowd, “The Harvest is massive, but the harvesters are too few.  Harvesters not only reap the souls (evangelists) but also store the grain(disciple them).

Hate disguises itself as a defender of truth and rails against others.  Jesus said that TRUTH makes or sets free, not the exposure of error.  Jesus said that those who will enter His kingdom are those who do the will of God —not by earning it, but by living His words.

Do we love!  Have we learned to love!  Do we love God, people, and ourselves enough to DO His Will?  We have a Commission.  That should be our focus.  The devil laughs at us to scorn when we focus on differences rather than God’s Commission.  Thy Kingdom come is not ensuring every Jot and Tittle of doctrine is right, it is entering the narrow gate and embracing Him!  It is living in the nowness of Jesus.

We have a harvest before us.  We don’t have time to squabble and quibble over differences.  Truth will dispel error.  We are called to be harvesters; let’s harvest!

LORD, help us to become so moved by what is happening that we totally surrender to You and become!