Dining With the Divine

“I will stand on my guard post and station myself…I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply…” Habakkuk 2:1

I remember one of the best pieces of advice I read about parenting when my kids were young was to encourage them to make decisions before they were in the certain situations. So, before they would attend a party, I would tell them to be resolved in their choices. I would remind them that it would be much easier to decide in advance how to respond to temptations instead of in the face of pressure from their peers. This beautiful verse in Habakkuk confirms the same principle. Habakkuk knows that the word from God isn’t going to be pretty. He fully understands that he is representing a group of people who have turned their backs on God. He is ready to face the music, and confident God is getting ready to act. But interesting enough, he seems more concerned with his response than his impending circumstances.

We should all have this level of concern with how we are going to accept God’s will. We pray for it…we sing about it…we recite it…but do we really embrace it when it appears to be contrary to our desires? We must decide before the outcome occurs that we will reply with trust in His wisdom, confidence in His plan, and hope in His better tomorrow. When we cannot understand why our loved one must depart, we can be sure we will see them again one day in heaven…and our reply can be deep gratitude. When employment opportunities seem to evaporate we can have hope that God has a better one for us…and our reply can be trusting. When that relationship seems to be losing its pulse we can remember that God always can bring reconciliation…and our reply can be hopeful.

Our joy and satisfaction are products of our responses to life’s difficult challenges. Like Habbakuk, we can’t have a timid spirit avoiding communication with God. We must stand watch for God, inviting Him into our challenging seasons, and deciding in advance that His will is not only good, but great for us. It’s not what we will have to digest because life has a buffet of both savory and unsavory. It is more about inviting God to dine with us no matter what the menu.

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight…” Jeremiah 15:16