Repeat Them In Our Day

Lord, I have heard of your fame and your deeds, and I am in awe of you, Lord.  Repeat them in our day. Make them known in our day.  In wrath remember mercy. ~Habakkuk 3:2

Towards the end of the prophet's conversation with God, he asks something of God that all of us have either asked or thought at one time or another.  Let me break it down for you:

• A Plea to God
• What I've Heard
• Your Fame
• Your Deeds
• My Response
• Awe
• My Ask
• Do it again
• Make it known again
• But, Please
• Be merciful

1. What I've Heard:  We hear all kinds of things daily - good and bad things; true and false things; revised and deconstructed things; political and non-political things; filthy and wholesome things; sacred and pagan things; and clear and confusing things.

We live in a day where diligent work is needed in order to hear of all God's fame and deeds of old.  Yes, we have much access to Scripture, but we are constantly subjected to some leaders of the Church who are discarding - even denouncing significant parts of Scripture that don't fit their contemporary, secular narrative.  

The prophet pushed out the voices of destruction and confusion and ushered in the Voice that is above every other voice.  He was a discerning hearer of the things of God.  It was a discipline.  It was a joy.  And he is challenging us to do the same.

2. My Response:  Awe is not angst or paralyzing fear.  It's the opposite.  It's a condition that floods our souls with the greatest of hope, the greatest of respect, and the greatest sense of duty.  Awe does not inflict legalistic lists or self-condemnation.  It brings about worshipful acts of obedience and an awareness that we are received and loved despite our unworthiness.  Awe compels us to the Father's Heart and constantly reminds us that He desires to dwell with us.  And that is "the awe" that is the prophet's response to the fame and deeds of God.

3. My Ask:  Repeat them in our day!  Repeat them in our day! Repeat them in our day!  And make it known again.  The prophet's ask to God has the feel, both grammatically and contextually, of a yearning - a repetitive longing and crying out to the Lord with a sense of urgency.  Arise, oh Lord.  We are in desperate need of you to show up again in a profoundly powerful way.  Heal.  Deliver.  Save.  Fill.  Set free.  Protect.  Awaken.  Refresh.  Transform.  Convict.  Do what only you can do so that we can be the people you desire us to be.

4. But, Please:  Finally, the prophet does not have a romantic notion of what he is asking.  He is well aware of the historical acts of wrath and vengeance by our Lord.  And so he concludes with a plea to God to remember His mercy.  God is merciful and kind and is slow to anger.  "Don't forget that, Lord," I can envision the prophet saying.  A day of wrath and judgement is coming, but we are still in the age of the Church - the age of the Body of Christ where opportunity abounds for those that are in darkness to come into the light; for those that are lukewarm to become fire hot again; for those who have bought into shallow, self-help Christianity to enter spiritual maturity and depth; and for those who are praying big prayers to see the power and presence of the Lord manifested in a might way.

Repeat them in our day, Oh Lord!

Ex nihilo,

R.J. Rhoden