American Christians and Habakkuk

God's plan moving throughout time is the foundation of the Biblical worldview of history. This does not negate man's choices, but means that God will work sometimes with and sometimes in spite of man's actions: "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Recently, I have been confronted by this truth once again and its impact on the Christianity of my nation.

Violence, aggression and crime seem to be the circumstances of the day. But then, when have they not? Not an age in human history has passed where they were not active in some fashion. Yet now we seem to face a different time, a time where a certain group of people wish the end of America and Christians. How are we to respond to this?

To answer that question, I have been drawn back to one of my favorite minor prophets: Habakkuk. His book is written as a question and answer session with God. He wrote at a time when the Babylonians were the rising foreign power. The good king of his own nation, Josiah, had died and a sinful, wicked king had taken his place. The nation was beset by greed, fighting, injustice and moral decline. The citizens of Judah spent their time on themselves and their pleasures and mocked the God who supposedly had the power to judge them.

I cannot help but see a comparison between Habakkuk's time and my own. We live in a time of many rising powers that are as powerful or more than America. We face the corruption of our government system so tied to lobbyists and powerful donors. Our nation is focused on hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure regardless of moral implications. And like Habakkuk, I hear many American Christians warning, "God will judge this."

Will he? He, indeed, may. I hear some long for such. "When will you take care of this God?" Habakkuk asks the same: "How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, 'Violence!' yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness?" (Habakkuk 3:1-3). Fed up with watching the injustice of his nation, Habakkuk longs for God's intervention. But God does not answer in a way that Habakkuk likes. God basically says, "I am going to take care of it. Babylon is going to rise up against Judah and invade." "Wait a second!" Habakkuk responds, "How can you use those horrible, immoral Babylonians against us?" What Habakkuk longed for suddenly doesn't seem so great.

American Christians are praying for revival, but we want it without suffering or trial or discomfort. We picture some spontaneous Holy Spirit descent that forces people to revive whether they like it or not. Our term revival comes from a time in history where this seemed to be the case. But we neglect the fact that revival, the awakening of the desire for the divine, often comes when people face pain, and I would suggest, even more so this way.

So what if God plans for America to face suffering and pain? Will you, American Christian, be okay with that? In her book, Smoke on the Mountain, Joy Davidman, wife of C.S. Lewis, speaks to this: "What, then, must we pray for? Nothing that we have not been told over and over again; nothing but 'Thy will be done,' even if his will is that we lose all that the last two hundred years have given us."

I find American Christians often act like God is obligated to keep them safe, to preserve their cushy way of life, their privileges, their benefits. When someone is elected they do not like, they do not understand how God would let this person reign. And even when wanting God's justice and praying for God's bringing down of evil, they want to be spared. "Discipline my country, God, but leave me intact."

Habakkuk knew he wouldn't be left intact. Yet even so, he trusted God in his plan. His trust resolved his fear:
"I heard and my inward parts trembled,
At the sound my lips quivered.
Decay enters my bones,
And in my place I tremble.
Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,
For the people to arise who will invade us.
Though the fig tree should not blossom 
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the Lord,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places." (3:16-19).

Could God use foreign nations and those of different religions to judge America and bring it back to him? Yes. And if he does, what, American Christian, will be your response? Will you trust God's plan or wring your hands in fear? Are you willing to accept that which you have prayed for even if it comes in a different package than you desired? If you are, then be at peace. Let your trust in God no matter what banish the fear. Be a light on a hill to those who fear in uncertain times and in so doing, draw others to him.