Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17.

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18.

Our chapter, Habakkuk 2, continues with Habakkuk standing watch waiting for Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, with patient expectation, for understanding of all he cannot understand without God. I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answers I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” v. 1-3. Creator God is the living Word and He speaks to us in Scripture, and in His thoughts gently speaking to our spirits what is true and good. “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness – indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples. Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn saying, ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’…Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them…Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice! Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” v. 4-5, 8, 12-14. And the contrast between our idols, whatever they are, and Creator God…“Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.” The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him. v. 18-20.

We are so close to the violence and lies of this broken world, that we have become blind and numb to them. But they are real. And they cause deep pain and hurt and suffering. But never forget, Creator God IS. His love lights the way to life lived to the full with Him. But the righteous person will live by his faithfulness…For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea…The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him. We can’t do this on our own. We can’t see without His help. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. In ancient Israel and right up until the time the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., the people brought sacrifices of animals to atone for their sins. It was a reminder of how costly sin is, present tense. Who could have thought that the Word, the Son, the One who created all of creation including us, would come to live as one of us; and after completing His work of Incarnation, God With Us, would offer His physical body as the one true sacrifice for all of our sins? Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering…yet we considered Him punished by God…stricken by Him and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him…and by His wounds…we…are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5. Who could have imagined or understood the depths of such deep, abiding, all-sacrificing love? Creator God! And He is worthy to direct your heart and bring healing to your spirit longing for Him and the goodness only He can bring. His love is a light so incredibly beautiful, it cannot be contained! All of creation speaks! We need His help to see…and rejoice!