How long, Lord, have I called for help, And You do not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.
Habakkuk 1:2 (NASB)
If we are honest with ourselves, we will accept that we are not ready to love our enemies who hurt us and seek to destroy us. Those who are willing to endure them in the name of their faith and submission to God’s word sometimes feel that God does not listen to them when they cry to Him for help. Often, they find themselves in the shoes of Habakkuk, who was concerned about the fate of his people taken captive by their Babylonian enemy.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where the only thing you can do in your prayers is to question God, asking Him like Habakkuk: “How long, Lord, have I called for help, And You do not hear?” Often, we think that we are the only ones in our situation and that no one else has ever experienced such a circumstance. The Bible is full of examples of men and women who, just like you, cried out to God because of their enemy, and got no answer.
Habakkuk was devastated when he saw his people, chosen by God, taken into captivity to live under the yoke of the enemy. He prayed to God because of what they were suffering, but God chose to be silent for a while. If you do not receive an answer from God about what your enemy is doing to you, it is not because He does not hear you, it is because He is trying to transform you and teach you to love without emotion to avoid feelings of revenge. When He acts, He will manifest His glory on you in the eyes of your enemy.
May the grace and peace of God be with you all.
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