Is a worldview that ‘God
is good’ adequate in helping Christians
understand everything that happens in their journey of faith? Let’s learn from Habakkuk about
a faithful God. Let’s learn from Moses how to
move only when God’s presence goes with us.
How
should believers view their relationship with God? Is it true they just
need to embrace the belief that God is good and that He will always bless
them?
There
is nothing wrong in believing that God is good and desires to bless His
children. “True humility and
fear of the LORD lead to riches, honour, and long life” (Proverbs 22:4). “For I
know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
In general, God desires to bless believers with material abundance, honour,
longevity and a bright future.
However, there will be seasons when believers
fail to see such blessings in their lives. When they are undergoing trials and
tribulations, the premise that ‘God is good’ seems like an empty creed — merely confessed
and sung by them on Sundays. What are the other attributes or qualities
of God they should cling on to?
They need to trust in a God who
is faithful, like Habakkuk. Though the crops failed and the flocks vanished,
yet he was not jittery. By faith, he rejoiced in a faithful God who will once again
make him secure and sure-footed like a mountain goat (Habakkuk 3:17-19). God
may not be good according to human expectations but He is faithful. In His own
time, He will prove that He is faithful.
God's answer to Habakkuk:
God's answer to Habakkuk:
“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
but the righteous shall live by his faith.
(Habakkuk 2:2-4).
Moses cherished God’s
presence with him in all his endeavours more than blessings. If
God’s presence did not go with him, he would not think of possessing the
Promised Land — a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus
33:15).
Moses once grappled with this issue: Should
he go ahead to enter the Promised Land without God’s presence or should he
venture out only when he sensed God’s presence? Being spiritually sensitive, he
chose the latter. Because his attitude was correct, he was rewarded. The glory
of God passed by and he was able to see God’s back (Exodus 33:13-23).
But the Israelites were not spiritually sensitive,
unlike Moses. At first, they did not believe in the positive report given by
Caleb and Joshua — that they were well able to possess the Promised Land. Thus
they fell under God’s judgment and had to wander in the wilderness for forty
years.
Later, in a turnaround from faithlessness and cowardice, they suddenly became gung ho. Presuming they were capable of
conquering the Promised Land, they launched the attack without God’s
presence — in the form of the ark of the covenant — and without Moses.
They could not resist the blessings of the Promised Land, which beckoned
to them to possess it. But they were defeated because God’s presence was not
with them (Numbers 14: 20-45).
To recap:
- We are merely taking baby steps in our faith walk when we believe in a good God who blesses us.
- Spiritual maturity involves trusting not only in good God but a God who is faithful in spite of adverse circumstances. When trials assail us, we should rejoice by faith in His faithfulness, just like Habakkuk.
- We should also seek to know God’s ways, like Moses. If God’s presence does not go with us, we should not venture out despite attractive blessings beckoning to us to go ahead. It is important to seek God’s presence rather than presume that — since He is a good God — the path of blessings must be right for us.
Finally, is the path of God’s choice invariably lined with blessings?
- “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
- “Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah” (Genesis 13:10). Lot, the nephew of Abraham, chose the best land using his natural judgment. He did not realise that the place would later be destroyed by God for its repugnant sins like sodomy. The path marked by blessings might not be God’s choice.
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
FOOTNOTES:
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the
vines,
the produce of the
olive fail and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off
from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in
the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my
strength; he makes my feet like the deer's;
He makes me tread on
my high places.
(Habakkuk 3:17-19).
Then Moses said to God, “If you don’t go with us, then don’t
make us leave this place.”
(Exodus 33:15).
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