From: December 18, 2025
“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2 ESV).
Habakkuk, a prophet of Judah, wrote during a time when God’s covenant people were marked by corruption, injustice, and violence. Though the nation was called by the LORD’s name, its life was marked by disregard for His law.. Habakkuk addressed God directly, using His covenant name, YHWH, which is shown in the English translation by all caps “LORD.” Using God’s covenant name showed that the prophet trusted God’s character even as he questioned God’s timing. His repeated cry, “How long,” reflected not unbelief but anguish over God’s apparent delay in acting against evil. Habakkuk was not asking whether God was righteous; he was wrestling with why God’s righteous justice seemed postponed. He believed that God saw the violence, hated the injustice, and would ultimately act in accordance with His covenant promises. The prophet’s questioning lament introduced a dialogue in which God would later reveal that He was already at work, though in ways Habakkuk did not yet understand.
We often find ourselves asking the same question when we look at a world that seems increasingly hostile to God’s truth and filled with sin, violence, and injustice. We cry out, “How long, Lord?” when prayers seem unanswered and righteousness appears delayed. Yet like Habakkuk, we do not question whether God is just; we struggle with waiting for His justice to be revealed. We must remember that God’s delays are not denials and that evil, no matter how entrenched it seems, is temporary under God’s sovereign rule. When we lament, we are not abandoning faith, we are exercising it. We appeal to God on the basis of His character and promises, trusting that He will act at the right time and in the right way. As we wait, we can learn to anchor our hearts in confidence that God is still righteous, still reigning, and still faithful. In our waiting, we echo the cry of faith found in our title: “How long, O LORD?”
PRAYER: Dear Father, we come before You with honest hearts, confessing that we often grow weary as we wait for Your justice to be revealed. Help us trust Your timing when revival seems delayed. Strengthen our faith to remember that You see all things and that You will act according to Your timing. Teach us to wait with hope, humility, and perseverance, confident in Your perfect plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: December 18, 2024
“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols…” (Revelation 9:20 ESV).
In John’s Revelation, six of the seven trumpets have been blown, yet humanity still refused to repent. If God’s singular purpose during the coming Great Tribulation would be to judge humanity’s sin, then a single, swift flood like in the days of Noah would suffice. But God’s activity is aimed at repentance. He wants to bring the remnant of His people to repentance and saving faith.
The means may seem harsh, but they reveal the depth of sin bound up in human hearts. Even after six trumpets of judgment, the rest of mankind continues wallowing in sin and false worship. The horror of this segment of Revelation is not God’s judgments, but humanity’s calloused lack of repentance.
What does it take to bring humanity to repentance?
PRAYER: Dear Father, You have given us Your Word so that we are warned of the coming Tribulation. Just as You did Abraham before You destroyed Sodom, You have warned us of a coming time of judgment on the earth. Help us to be faithful to preach the gospel, so that its hearers repent and believe on Your Son. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: December 18, 2022
SUREFOOTED STRENGTH
Even though trials and suffering may come our way, we can depend on the “surefooted strength” of our God. After a long list of “even though” situations, Habakkuk declared his trust and dependence on God to help him not only take the next step, but to “tread upon the heights!”
Surefooted strength is power with wisdom. It gives us not only the strength to step, but leads us in the path to step. Since the next step is often steeper and more precarious, surefooted strength is also the courage to take it. For the depths are only one false step from the heights and faithful courage is required to move.
Lord, give us surefooted strength today!
PRAYER: Dear Father, strengthen our minds and our bodies to do Your will today. Give us power and wisdom to follow You. And when trouble comes, help us to know when to move and when to wait. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: December 18, 2016
Six of the seven trumpets have been blown, yet humanity “did not repent.” If God’s singular purpose during the Great Tribulation would be to judge humanity’s sin, then a single, swift flood like in the days of Noah would suffice. But God’s activity is aimed at repentance. He wants to bring the remnant of His people to repentance and saving faith. The means may seem harsh, but they reveal the depth of sin bound up in human hearts. Even after six trumpets of judgment, the “rest of mankind” continues wallowing in sin and false worship. The horror of this segment of Revelation is not God’s judgments, but humanity’s lack of repentance.
From: December 18, 2015
When the Judean captives weren’t working for their Babylonian masters, they would retreat to the “rivers of Babylon,” and as they watched the waters flowing by, tears would begin to pour down their faces as they remembered their home in Jerusalem. They couldn’t see the mountains of Zion, but they could move to the outskirts of Babylon to gaze upon the Euphrates and the numerous man-made canals that intersected the terrain. Carrying their harps with them, they planned to sing and have a picnic, but gazing upon the waters, they “sat down” and “wept.” There’s something about sitting by a river or standing on a mountain that causes us to remember Zion. After all, this in not our true home. We are but pilgrims passing through.