Sunday 9 Dec 2018

December 9: Habakkuk 2:1-5

Key Verse: Habakkuk 2:4
See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright - but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness -

Devotion:
When I read some of the Old Testament books, I can see why some religions stick with Old Testament books only; not from the stance of leaving Jesus out of their religion, but because of the amount of information held within them. The words which the prophets were inspired to write down need to be studied so we can learn why they wrote the words they did. They need to be studied by everyone and not just scribes and priests. God has made sure we all have access to all of the bible so that we can all find the truth.

We will all face temptations at some time or another and some of those seem to come when we are asking God for something else, even asking for help! Satan is not going to let up until he is chained away forever, and we have to remember that; we will still face his temptations and it is God’s Word which is able to strengthen us against those temptations. We need to keep His Word with us and depend on it, reading and discerning the truth so we can know it, remembering it when we do need to. Bringing forward God’s Word when we are faced with troubled times will help us and guide us. It is God’s Word.

If we are willing and able to seek out the truth by reading God’s Word, we will not be disappointed with what we find because what He has given us is sufficient. We may struggle to understand the words when we first read them because they were written by people from a different culture and a different time, but study them we must, because God will give us understanding when we seek it. Sometimes we are in too much of a rush and don’t wait for the answer from God – we simply rush forward without thinking and certainly without taking His word with us! God’s timescales can be demanding sometimes because He is working for the best outcome and not a temporary fix as we seem to look for in most things. When we depend on it, we are showing our faith in God, we are showing Him we do trust Him and we are waiting patiently for Him to answer our prayers according to His time. Walk by faith and not by works and He will bless us mightily!

Points to Ponder:
When you trust someone do you listen to what they say?

Are you listening to what God has to say through His Word?