"Oh Lord, I have heard your words, and was afraid: Oh Lord, revive your work in the middle years, in the middle years make known; in wrath remember mercy..."
That is Habakkuk 3:1, with only very slight poetic license. Please do look it up yourself.
Here we see the prophet Habakkuk, who some say was a contemporary of Jeremiah. Habakkuk was confessing his dread at what he saw in the spirit - which was the judgement of the Lord, and what would happen when it finally came to its climax in his nation. There his people were, in distress and not yet delivered...and they wouldn't be for awhile. Habakkuk heard the word of the Lord and was afraid - afraid that the people of God would not survive it. So he boldly interceded for mercy in the middle.
That was a prayer after God's own heart.
As it is with nations, so it is with you and I. If the thought of reaping some of what you have sown does not make you feel afraid, then you either have no concept of God, or you have managed to be perfect.
Here is the crazy-good news: there is already mercy in your middle. Through the Finished Work of the Cross, you do not have to dread what tomorrow holds in store. When the thought of reaping what you have sown arises in your soul, you should take a split-second to shiver at the very idea...and then rejoice with exceeding joy, because Christ took every bit of your punishment upon Himself.
He is no longer angry with you, and never will be. Ever.
As for natural consequences...well, mercy applies there, too.
What are you in the middle of? What pressures are you facing? What is your son or daughter in the middle of? What do you, like Habakkuk, sense in your spirit "ain't over yet"?
Whatever process has not run its course, whatever is in the middle stages, whatever consequences aren't over yet, whatever project is not completed, God has sent me here today to tell you that His desire is to "revive His work in your middle years".
It is His desire to make known to you, even while you are still stuck in your middle, even when there is no deliverance on the immediate horizon...
...He would make known to you new horizons and fresh purpose.
In wrath, mercy has already been remembered! You live post-cross, my beautiful friend! You get nothing but mercy in your middle from Him! Why? Because He understands the middle. He hung there on a cross, between heaven and earth, in the middle of two thieves, and He died in the middle of the day. He is deeply touched by your difficulties (and your joys) in the middle.
Feeling any gratitude for this?
1 comment:
I really liked the part where you said "He will revive His work in your middle years". Made me think honestly. Maybe God can still use me for His work. That maybe He would even want to use me. This is touching a pain I have had and carried a long time. This made me cry. ;-)
Jame
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