God Sees and Is Aware

Lord, how long do I have to call out for help? Why don’t you listen to me? How long must I keep telling you that things are terrible? Why don’t you save us? Why do you make me watch while people treat others so unfairly? Why do you put up with the wrong things they are doing? I have to look at death. People are harming others. They are arguing and fighting all the time. The law can’t do what it’s supposed to do. Fairness never comes out on top. Sinful people surround those who do what is right. Some people are never treated fairly. The Lord replies, “Look at the nations. Watch them. Be totally amazed at what you see. I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe. You would not believe it even if someone told you about it.” – Habakkuk‬ 1:2-5‬ NIRV‬‬

With the election less than 30 days away, many have wondered what will be next. What will happen in November? If one candidate does not win, some have said there will be violence. If either candidate wins, there will be not just a political loser, but supporters believe they will lose ground in ideological areas that they support. Each candidate and every supporter contends that there are serious character flaws in their opponent. And every American desires to see change in some manner. After all, it is what an election is all about – who can bring about the change you want to see. 

Yet this election is seemingly different. It started in 2008 when then-Senator Obama ran on a platform of changing direction, but it has been expounded even more so during this election. People, Americans, seemingly are all pushing for our government and country to be run differently. They are crying out literally through their vote. 

Well once, the prophet Habakkuk did something similar. He didn’t cry out through a voting system. Instead, he cried out through prayer. He saw the wrongs that his people were committing. He saw a system that seemed to reward the unjust. Also, he saw how others mocked the God he served. In his outrage, frustration, anger, and hurt, God responded. Throughout the Book of Habakkuk God’s response was that He was aware of what was going on in Israel and in Judah; He was aware of the punishment He would send via Babylon, and He already knew how He would correct even the tool of His punishment. God told Habakkuk that even as it looked uncertain to Habakkuk that He was working on a new thing across the nations, something that he wouldn’t believe. 

That same sentiment is true today. God is not unaware of the times. He knows the election before it will be decided, He knows the disobedience of all the nations, and He knows the tools of correction, and He knows the tools of grace. God knows. And because He knows, just as when He told Habakkuk to look and see what He would do around him, we should also trust the Lord and His hand. Why? His sight far out sees our own. 

Walk with Him,

Shaniqua Rischer