A Peaceful Solution In A World In Turmoil
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘<The Lord said to Habakkuk,> “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”’ (Habakkuk 2:4)
The Book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament is 3 chapters comprising of Habakkuk’s two complaints. The first is Habakkuk’s perception that God is not dealing with rampant violence and evil, the second is Habakkuk’s perception that God is not dealing with greed that destroys the wellbeing of people (the greedy and the left-out). God responds to both complaints with, to paraphrase – ‘it’s already taken care of, their punishment is sealed and coming to them’. (Habakkuk then finishes with a prayer praising God and His omnipotence.)
We can see how both domestically and globally how the social, political, and even economic landscape has changed. The Biblical Worldview has been replaced with the Global Worldview where feelings outweigh facts, leading to gender dysmorphia and abortion, democratic/republican foundations such as the US Constitution usurped by the ‘mob mentality’ of anarchism and totalitarianism, and capitalism is slowly replaced by socialism/communism. The enemy, as the Lord refers to in his response to Habakkuk, are not those who are in the mob; those who rioted with Antifa and BLM in 2020, those who rioted for Palestine (and against Israel) just this last weekend across the globe. But God is also addressing the real enemy, Satan, who has poisoned the minds of those who are driven to damage, destroy, and disrupt and join into such fracases.
God provides the solution to Habakkuk in the same breath. The righteous person living in Faith is not the enemy, and the righteous will not be driven to destroy but to upkeep and build. What the issue is in this growth of the Global Worldview is a lack of Faith in God by a growing number of people, which is an indication that a growing number of people don’t know God. If people know God through His son Jesus, they would know His will is not to disrupt but to be harmonious to His plans (Psalm 143:10). They would be prompted by the Holy Spirit to steer away from that which is destructive.
How can this growth of unbelief and unrighteousness be stopped? It is quite simply this; obey the Great Commission. Go and make disciples! This is not just a pastoral or elder pursuit but a ‘all-hands-on-deck’, every Christian pursuit. We are all evangelists of Jesus when we are saved by His grace; we are to provide people the Gospel message of Christ to those who don’t know Him. The turmoil of today’s society, the dwindling of Christians in our communities, and many other issues can be resolved or at least mitigated if each Christian could provide one person they come across with the Good News of Salvation. The tide can be reversed and you can play a part in it through your obedience to Jesus. Go and make disciples!
