Daily Scripture Threshing for Friday, June 9, 2023
Today’s Text: Habakkuk 3:1-16
Key Verses: Habakkuk 3:2 (ESV): “O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.”
Just how best do we understand Habakkuk’s words in context as we take yet another look at this same key text? What does “O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear…” means? In 1:5-11 and 2:2-20, the Lord had informed this prophet of His plans to judge Judah and punish the Chaldeans, of which his (Habakkuk’s) response of/in fear is now being rehearsed for our example. The wisdom behind this oracle is the need for us to learn that a genuine awareness of God and responsiveness to His word essentially are necessary to provoking godly fear. Godly fear brings us into confession just like Habakkuk confesses: I have heard what you have revealed to me concerning your intention to execute judgment, first upon your own people, and upon their enemies (the Chaldeans) afterward. And the terribleness of them hath filled me with a reverential awe and dread.
Revival starts when we are confronted with the fact of our drowning in the recklessness of sin; blinded by charismatic permissiveness; and the hypocrisy of religion which leave us devoid of soulful brokenness and soberness. Revivals are triggered when soul-piercing word of God are greeted with the corresponding cry of “woes” rather than the misappropriated chants of “wows!” The idea of woe in Biblical Hebrew is a literal expression of godly grief, anguish, wretchedness, cry for help when the realities of our situations is confronted by the word of God. Revival is then marked by a sincere sorrow for sin, a confession of the same, a willingness to repent and an opportunity to embrace forgiveness and deliverance.
Where are today’s Habakkuks that will seek and experience revival? They are not fans of wow-seeking pulpits; nor are they wow-moved preachers. They are men who understands that God’s sacrifice is a broken spirit. They understand that a broken and contrite heart, God, will not despise. Unfortunately, ours is a generation so buried in the cesspool of impunity. We are so untouched by the word so much that we wink at our woeful condition and glory in our foolish choices. As for Habakkuk, don’t ask for revival until your heat is pricked by God’s word and your response is marked by a corresponding fear — not a slavish trepidation of God, but a holy awe of him that drawn us in love.
Quote for the Day: “A contrite and broken spirit comes to Christ burdened by a feeling of woe but freed from eternal woes of God’s judgment and are passed into unending wows of heavenly glory.” (Simon Olatunji)
Prayer: Dear Lord, please cleanse me of vanity and turn my life from upside down to inside out. I crave Your revival in my life: a change of attitude toward Your word. I bring to You every flaw and defection – known and hidden. You alone can mend the cracks and crevices of my brokenness and fill my empty life and longing with meaning — in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With all my love and prayers,
Rev Simon Wale Olatunji, Ph.D.
Your Darling Bishop (DaBishop)
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[Daily Scripture Threshing is a devotional guide of The House of Prayer Evangel Church USA distributed for free use by individuals, small groups, families, and Christian churches]
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