Habakkuk
Sunday night was Kris’ baptism. Kris is an English teacher working in a school in Hirosaki (I think it’s in Hirosaki) He came to faith some time ago (4 years) and wasn’t baptised, when he came to Japan and joined a church here (Itayanagi’s English Fellowship) he decided to get baptised and last night he did. His testimony was incredible, lots of experiences and changed etc. But that’s not what I’m going to write about…
His testimony was quite long (and no one was complaining!) and it left little time for John (Elliot) to do a sermon, so he scrapped the one he had prepared talking about the reformation (was reformation sunday) and did one on Habakkuk, his inspiration was related to Kris’ testimony in some way, but I am going to talk about verse 5 of chapter 1:
Look at the nations, and see! Be astonished! Be astounded! For a work is being done in your days that you would not believe if you were told. For I am rousing the Chaldeans.
Now this very verse has stood out to me three times since last night. When John first read it, tonight in the car coming home from the English Bible study in Hirosaki and then when I opened my inbox there was an email from the LICC’s Word of the Week series with the verse as the opening bit.
Each time it was saying the same thing to me, it initially made me feel excited about the possibilities of the things God can do in Japan (and across the world) and how I can be a part of it. But the point of the verse is that Habakkuk was complaining about the state of things, the state of Israel and wanting God to do something. God tells Habakkuk what He is going to do (and we now know He did) using the Chaldeans (the Babylonians, aka the bad guys). This surprised Habakkuk somewhat because God wasn’t supposed to work through bad guys. He was supposed to use good upright men and deliver the israelites all the time (like the Exodus, Judges, etc etc). But this time God was using the bad guys.
It reminds me that God is poised to do great things. But it also reminds me that God will do His work the way that He sees fit. Not the way that I probably expect Him to. We spent some time in the mornings studying Revelation and how people imagine how things will be then put themselves in danger of missing it when it does happen because they are expecting something else. Much like the Jews did with Jesus.
I’m at the stage where I don’t really know what God has in store for me after this year. I am waiting to see what He tells me. I have ideas but I need to be sure they are of from God and not just things I have come up with as a possible plan as I don’t want to miss the great things God has in store.
November 1st, 2005 at 4:04 am
Nice post! Lovin’ the insight from Habakkuk. Hope you’re doing well, lad. We’re missing you back here in Antrim.
November 10th, 2005 at 5:45 pm
Thanks, John, for this bit of encouragement from the Word! Sometimes it can seem like nothing is ever going to happen here … and yet that just reminds us again to trust the Holy Spirit to work.
Hang in there … lets trust Him for exciting things to happen, whatever they may be, and whichever ‘tools’ he decides to use.
November 12th, 2005 at 6:51 am
Wow, John… It’s so true that when you have a fixed idea of what God will do, you sometimes miss the wonderful things He’s actually doing because it’s not the wonder you’re expecting. But if you don’t have any fixed ideas, and you just focus on getting to know God more, then He will show you amazing things and do amazing works through you.
God uses the people He has chosen for the tasks He does, even if they’re not the people’s choice. You may not be a Babylonian, and I certainly don’t think you’re a bad guy, but hey; so far God has picked you up and put you halfway round the world- twice!! What on Earth He’ll do with you next is anybody’s guess- I’m excited to find out!