Wednesday, June 30, 2021

In the Midst of the Years (Pandemic) Habakkuk 3:2

Today is the last day of June, in the middle of the year. "Revive Your work, Lord in the midst of the years, throughout the years make it known, in wrath remember mercy" Habakkuk 3:2. When God is wrathful against the nations, He sends plagues before Him - "pestilence goes before Him, a fever (heat) goes forth at His feet" (3:5). Do we not realise that this pestilence of Covid-19 is God's wrath against the world, against His people for judgement begins in the household of God (1 Peter 4:17)? This Covid-19 plague will last for at least three years, perhaps extending to the middle of 2023. It is now in the middle of the pandemic years - Lord, revive Your work in the midst of years.

Habakkuk's prayer is that God's people do not become despondent due to God's wrath and judgement against the nations. The prophet says that though the fig tree does not blossom, there is no yield in the vines, the olive crop fails, fields produce no food...yet he will triumph in the Lord, he will rejoice in the God of His salvation" (3:18-19). The prophet is confident that in the midst of God's wrath, God's work should not be abandoned or neglected but that it should be revived and be made fruitful. While God judges the nations in His wrath, "He comes out for the salvation of His people - for the deliverance of His anointed one" (3:13). Here, this verse talks about the saving help given to His anointed, God's chosen leader. If God's people accept the leadership of God's anointed ("believe in prophets, and you will prosper"), they will also benefit from God's salvation because He has made one strong for Himself and through God's anointed leadership, God's people will be fed, materially and spiritually. 

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