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 answer 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. See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright — but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” Habakkuk 2:1-4
“The specific instructions to inscribe the vision and make it plain on tablets underscores its significance not only for the crucial hour in which Habakkuk lived, but all for the generations to come…The significance of this vision finds further emphasis by the reason given for its clear inscription. Habakkuk is to make it plain on the tablets so that he who proclaims it may run. Rather than envisioning a placarded statement so large that a person running by might read it, the context of a prophetic vision inscribed on tablets for the ages to come suggests the “running” of a messenger “to proclaim” the vision…
Habakkuk must inscribe his vision plainly so that he who proclaims it may run. The abiding inscription of the vision suggests that the bearer of this message shall not be a single individual. Instead, many through the ages to come shall rush to declare this divine word… How can God fulfill His promises to His people when He is about to devastate them? The divine answer to His perplexity must be inscribed on tablets, and many proclaimers in the ages to come must run with the message that resolves this problem… It is not merely for the present generation. It is for the ages to come.”
O. Palmer Robertson in The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990) 168-170.
If you want to read a message from God that will minister to your soul in this COVID-19 season, read Habakkuk. It’s a short little book. The GTP board and staff read this excerpt from it together at our GTP board meeting this week.
Habakkuk starts chapter one with lament. He cries out to God. This is part of God’s answer in chapter two. Then chapter three ends with a prayer and declaration of His confidence in God.
We are living in a time when we get to read what Habakkuk inscribed on those tablets because it was passed down for us. What does this have to do with generosity?
The one who follows God right design for life and living will be sustained by his faithfulness. In other words, God will shake those who don’t follow His ways but will sustain those who do.
These are not times for hoarding but for helping. And our help is not just for those around us for generations after us. Let us remind everyone to serve the living God with faithfulness.
Our generosity is giving perspective and living out the right posture in hard times. We’ve got this. God’s got us. I hope this was plain inspiration so you can run with it.