Your Daily Bible

In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul says, “I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

As Christians, we are called to pray for those in authority: pastors, bosses, supervisors, managers, parents, school teachers, administrators, political leaders, etc. Not only are we called to pray for them, but we’re also told to thank God for each of these people.

How we feel about them, their work or their policies does not excuse us from the call on our lives to pray for them. Paul also says in 1 Timothy 2:8, “Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.” There are no conditions to this calling. We are simply called to pray, no matter our opinions.

Praying for and encouraging our leaders isn’t about asking God to find someone to take their place. Eventually every leader must step down, and it’s important that while they are in authority, we be willing to submit to God’s will for their lives—and ours— by thanking God for them and praying for their salvation, their protection and their ability to guide us and make wise decisions.

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If you have a pulse, you have a past. We all have things in our past we would rather not remember because remembering makes us uncomfortable. Maybe it was the names you called a classmate behind his back, or the girl you pursued just to get in her pants or the failed marriage you pretend never happened.

Paul, in his first letter to a young leader named Timothy, shows us how remembering the past helps us appreciate the present. After openly stating his past wrongs, Paul says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:12-15).

None of us were good enough to earn a place in heaven — not even Paul, who started churches all over the world and wrote half of the New Testament. Salvation is a gift we didn’t deserve and didn’t earn. When we omit parts of our story or pretend we’ve always been this godly, it cheapens the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.

Eager as we are to forget our past, it’s only when we put down our perfect fronts and acknowledge how God saved us from our messy pasts that we can experience the freedom of God’s grace.

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Too often, Christians believe everything should be easy because we are God’s people. But if you’ve followed Jesus for any length of time, you know that’s not always the case. Sometimes, things don’t go our way. And while it’s easy to turn our backs on God when life gets chaotic, Habakkuk shows us there is another way.

Habakkuk saw God unleash His wrath on the world. Confused and upset, he asked God the question we all want to ask: “Why?” Like Habakkuk, one of the best things we can do with our doubt is to present our questions to God and spend time with Him in prayer. In Habakkuk 3, the prophet is finishing a long conversation with God. He reflects on who God is, thanks God for His faithfulness and acknowledges that he can find joy in God’s presence, despite any tough circumstances.

Habakkuk’s response to his doubt gives us an example of how we can deal with doubt. First, recognize when we’re feeling doubt and understand why. Second, react by bringing our questions to God and praising Him in prayer. Third, remember how faithful God has been in our lives and the promises He’s made. Finally, choose to rejoice in the Lord and be joyful in Jesus our Savior!

Remembering who God is, His faithfulness in the past, and His promises for the future gives us the confidence to trust God with what's happening right now. We are still human. We still live in a sin-filled world filled with loss, hardships, doubt, stress, and fear. The difference when we face each day with Jesus is that we have the ability to experience joy, peace, love, and security even in hard times.  

Reflect:

• Given what you read today, is there anything about your response to doubt that needs to change?

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Have you ever pulled into your parking spot at work or school and realized you can’t remember a single moment of the drive? When we see and do the same things every day, it’s easy to go into autopilot.

As our familiarity with our surroundings increases, our awareness of their specialness decreases. This is true, not just in our morning commutes, but in our spiritual lives as well. In Habakkuk 2:14, God describes a time when the earth will be shaken out of autopilot and filled with an awareness of His glory.

The world wasn’t lacking examples of God’s glory. God’s glory was all around Israel, just like it’s all around us. Everything we find beautiful in nature  — from the mountains to the beach — was made by God and points to how magnificent He is. The problem was a lack of awe for the God who made everything they depended on.

Taking for granted the God who made the wood, the people started making their own gods. And while we don’t see a lot of wooden idols today, we aren’t that different from the people God was warning when He said, “How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk!” (Habakkuk 2:18).

When we allow anything other than God to capture our awe, we’ve made an idol. Idols aren’t just statues. Idols take all forms —  the need for acceptance, the love of money, the identity we find in roles at work or at home.   

Removing idols from our lives doesn’t have to take the destruction of nations. Rediscovering our awe starts with the choice to give God credit and honor for all that we are, all that we have and all that we can do.

No matter how many steps we’ve taken from God, He hasn’t moved. God is still in His holy temple displaying His glory (Habakkuk 2:20). We just have to stop long enough to see it.

Reflect:

• Is there any area of your life where you’ve allowed yourself to become more captivated by something God created than by the Creator Himself? How has that affected your awareness of God’s presence around you?

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You pull into the dump with your final load of trash. The cleanup was a success, and you are ready to bask in the neatness of your newly-organized garage. But as you leave, you notice the rusted remnants of a gas grill, decayed fragments of some outdoor furniture, and a tattered old couch among the dumpsters.

The piles of discarded goods provide a tangible reminder of the temporary nature of life on earth. Like us, Babylon lived in an age of prosperity and excess. People lusted after what was newer, bigger, and better. But none of what they built still stands.

In Habakkuk 2, God spoke through the prophet Habakkuk to warn Babylon that He was not pleased with their obsession with money and material possessions. Habakkuk chastises Babylon for the way they built their wealth. Their desires were not upright. They obtained their wealth through greed, arrogance, extortion, and bloodshed. Their house was built through unjust gain and filled with stolen goods.

Habakkuk warns the Babylonians that, like the worn out items at the dump, their earthly possessions will eventually decay. A life built on materialism will not last. But a life built around a relationship with Jesus will last into eternity.

“The righteous will live by faithfulness,” Habakkuk writes, and one day “... the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (Habakkuk 2:4 and Habakkuk 2:14).   

On that day, we will all give an account for what we built our lives on. Like the nations of Habakkuk’s day, we have a choice: We can build our lives on a relationship with Jesus, or we can build our lives on acquiring stuff and making money. But only one will last into eternity.

Reflect:

• Is there anything about your attitude to money and stuff that needs to change based on what you read today?

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We don’t have the luxury of ignoring ISIS with the news tracking every tragedy. As the violence against Christians escalates, we wonder why hasn’t someone intervened?

Riots and protests reported on the news remind us of the anger and injustice, frustration and brutality that exist in communities across America. Where is the hope here?

Extremists protest and shout intolerance and hatred in Jesus’ name. God doesn’t support this, but why hasn’t He stopped it?

There seems to be a lot of injustice in this world and little action from God. Habakkuk felt the same way. His world was out of control and the people around him were full of evil. He begged God for justice, and even accused Him of being silent. But God’s response was simple, “Wait for it; it will certainly come and it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

Often what we perceive as God’s slowness to action is His grace and patience with us. Peter, one of Jesus’ followers, described God this way, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

God’s patience is not the same as His permission. No one hates sin more than God. No one is more angry with ISIS, no one is more hurt by the Baltimore riots, and no one is more grieved when the church misrepresents Jesus.

God is full of grace and fully just all the time. He will bring an end to evil, but not without giving those perpetuating evil a chance to repent. And His plan to change the world is through the local church.  

We don’t have to riot, protest or fight to change things. We change the world as we share the good news of a God who loves us and was willing to die for us, and invite others to know Him, too.

Reflect:

• When was the last time you felt like God was slow to act? How did it make you feel?
• How does what you read today affect the way you pray for your community, your leaders, or the world?
• What’s one way knowing Jesus has changed you? Who can you share that story with this week?

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2 I will climb up to my watchtower
     and stand at my guard post.
 There I will wait to see what the Lord says
     and how he will answer my complaint.

Today, banks make it pretty easy to order a new debit or credit card when yours has been compromised or lost. Back in the day, people had to go into the bank to get a new card. These days, one phone call and it’s headed straight for your mailbox.

But what if, after ordering the new card, you sat in your house day after day and stared out of the window at your mailbox, wondering where your card was but never bothering to go check it? Or, maybe you got too busy to stop and check the mailbox, so you just continued to rush past it every day. Obviously, you would not get your card. You wouldn’t even know if the card was ever there.

That may seem like a silly response to a pressing matter, but so many of us do that with God. We are quick to ask God for answers, but do we put ourselves in a position to receive them? We live in a fast-paced, instant gratification driven world where a slow answer often means no answer. If we don’t receive immediate answers, we jump to the next solution or try to figure things out on our own.

The prophet Habakkuk asked God questions then put himself in the best position possible to hear God’s answer. Not only did he position himself to hear, he waited. He waited in expectation (Habakkuk 2:1).

God hears every prayer, and answers them how He sees fit. Not how we see fit. Sometimes we have to wait for direction, but waiting is not the same as doing nothing. To wait with expectation is to continue seeking God believing He hears us and has something to say.

Reflect:

• Is there a prayer you have given up on because you haven’t seen an answer?

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It’s been a month — maybe two — since it all started going south.

The debt was manageable in the beginning. There was one pile of student loans, the car payments, and the credit card bills you swore were “emergencies.” But then came the medical bills you weren’t expecting, and the tuition bill that was twice what you thought it would be.

The pile got bigger, overwhelming you. You, who didn’t deserve this. You, who hadn’t done anything wrong. You, who the world was coming down on for really no reason at all.

We’ve all been there (or a version of there). Habakkuk was there, too.

Habakkuk watched as God set out to punish Israel using the wicked nation of Babylon. He didn’t believe Israel deserved such a punishment, yet they were taken by a nation that, in Habakkuk’s eyes, deserved it more.  

And like many of us, Habakkuk asked God, “Why?”

God’s answer likely was not what Habakkuk wanted to hear. While Israel may not have been as wicked as Babylon, they were far from innocent. God sent Babylon against Israel because they needed to experience the consequence for their sin.  

Not everything that happens in our lives is a punishment for something we’ve done. But sometimes, if we’re honest with ourselves, the circumstances we face are the result of our own bad decisions.

God loves us the way a perfect father does. He wants good things for His children. And sometimes, the most loving thing a father can do is allow us to experience the consequences of our actions so we’ll turn away from a life that’s not good.  

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Cancer steals the ones we love. Babies die before they get a chance to live. Police officers are charged with murder. People riot in the streets and burn cities. Wildfires chase people from their homes. 

If God is a good God who wants good things for His children, why do bad things happen? Where is the justice?

When devastating circumstances rock our lives, even the most faithful among us can be shaken with doubt. Where is God? Why is He allowing this? Is He really good? Does He even exist?

God is not scared of our questions, and He is not surprised by our doubts.

Even the prophet Habakkuk had doubts and questions for God. In Habakkuk 1:1-4, surrounded by violence, injustice, wrongdoing, destruction, strife and conflict, Habakkuk cries out to God, “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2).

The Lord doesn’t condemn him for asking. He answers and gives him hope. God explains to Habakkuk that He has a plan so amazing that he wouldn’t even believe it (Habakkuk 1:5).

When devastating and confusing circumstances cause us to question God, we can be assured He cares, has a plan, and is working it all together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). We may not understand because we only see part of the story, but God sees the big picture and has a plan greater than anything we could imagine.

God is working in your life and in our world in ways that if He told us, we would not even believe.

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In the midst of hard circumstances or anxiety, it can be difficult to see past the problem in front of us, much less present our requests rationally, clearly or with thanksgiving. What is there to be thankful for when you’re facing bankruptcy, or divorce, or Cancer? Shouldn’t you be anxious when the relationship you thought would last forever suddenly falls apart? What is there to rejoice about when you keep falling into that sin over and over and over again?

In Philippians 4:4-6, Paul isn’t telling us to ignore what circumstances we have. He’s directing us to get perspective on those circumstances. He writes in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Paul isn’t saying difficulties don’t matter, but that they are parts of a larger picture, a whole world filled with blessings, too.

If you’re in the midst of difficult circumstances, two things are true: First, those circumstances are threatening to consume your every thought and waking moment. Maybe they already have. But the second truth is this: In addition to the problems, your life is filled with wonderful blessings you can’t see because your focus is elsewhere. When you’re tempted to worry, thank God for something different. Maybe you are facing bankruptcy, but you are alive and healthy. Maybe that relationship did fall apart, but there is a God who loves you more than that person ever could. Maybe you’re in a pattern of sin, but there is a Savior who can and will help you through it.

Trouble and anxiety are real, but when we pause to recognize and thank God for His blessings in the midst of them, He gives us peace. Whatever good thing you think about may seem irrelevant, but even if it is only for a moment, it is a moment of freedom.

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