“Oh Lord, how long must I call for help before You will listen? I shout to You in vain; there is no answer. “Help! Murder!” I cry, but no one comes to save. Must I forever see this sin and sadness all around me? Where I look there is oppression and bribery and men who love to argue and to fight. The law is not enforced and there is no justice given in the courts; for the wicked far outnumber the righteous, and bribes and trickery prevail.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4 TLB)

​It is so easy to lose sight of our purpose, get off track, forget the dreams, goals and visions that the Lord has given us. It is so easy to feel defeated when we experience failings, fallings and struggles. We can look around us and grow discouraged when evil abounds and the small battles we win, seem to never get us very far, because for every small ground we take, it feels as though the enemy has still more. These feelings are true in our individual lives, and we are not alone, (though we may feel like we are), it is true in our families, it is true in our ministries, it is true in our workplace, it is true all around us.
The prophet, Habakkuk looked around him and all he saw was evil, destruction, wickedness abounding. He grew discouraged and cried out to the Lord. Habakkuk was called to be a prophet to a nation whose heart was far from God. Idolatry was everywhere, horrible abominations were being committed even to the point of parents sacrificing their children as burnt offerings to false gods. He cried out, “Where is God?”
As I look around today, I see the same things going on described by Habakkuk. Lawlessness, the murder of children, violence, bribes, oppression, idolatry, abounds in a “nation under God”. In the battle for life, Christians have grown weary. Many have lost the fire, have grown discouraged, given up or become complacent. Many ministries are now struggling. Many businesses & organizations are struggling. Meanwhile the demons continue to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus warns the body of Christ, in the book of Revelation, to rekindle our first love, to not be lukewarm, to be diligent and persevering in the faith. “He who endures to the end shall be saved”.
​For many, the battle has grown long and we are weary. “Where is God?” Habakkuk has an answer:

“I will stand my watch and set myself watch to see what He (God) will say to me” (Habakkuk 2:1 NKJV)

​We need to continue to stand watch, we need to continue to set ourselves on the rampart, we need to watch and see what God will say. We need to wait upon the Lord, and not be found too busy and not be found asleep. A.W. Tozer once said:

“Many are too preoccupied to hear or heed. They never allow God’s call to become a reason for decision. Their relationship with God never becomes a personal encounter. As a result, they live out their entire lives insisting that they never heard any call from God. The answer to that is plain. God has been trying to get through to them, but their line is always busy! They are engrossed in a host of worldly pursuits. We have no time to answer God when He calls. When the important matters of the soul are at stake, the most useful thing we can do is to do nothing, even if only for a short time. There are times when we can go the fastest by not going at all. We can go farthest by standing still for a while. Then, too, we can talk the loudest by not saying a word. We will not be taking the Lord by surprise; He will speak His message.”

“Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.'” (Habakkuk 2: 2-3 NKJV)

​Then, when the Lord speaks, write it down, read it, run with it, wait patiently for it. In other words, when God speaks, we need to put our faith into action. Those that love the Lord, keep his commandments, true love for God is evidence by obedience to His call. Oswald Chambers says:

“Have I received a ministry from the Lord? If so, I have to be loyal to it, to count my life precious only for the fulfilling of that ministry. There is no choice of service, only absolute loyalty to Our Lord’s commission. The call is loyalty to the ministry you received when you were in real touch with Him.”

Be faithful to the call that God has given you, though it tarries wait for it. In Hebrews 11, we read of the heroes of faith that did great and mighty things for God and yet in verse 39 we read, “and all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.” God had something better planned for them and for us! They still hung on to a future hope. We are then encouraged in Hebrews 12:1-2 “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith…”
​For those of you who have thought you hadn’t heard the call of God on your life, find a quiet place. Open the ears of your heart to His still small voice. Let God share His heart with you, He has been waiting.
For those of you who have labored long, you too need to find a quiet place, go sit up on the wall, watch and see what God will say to your questions of “Why?” “How Long?” “Where are You, God?” “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:16 NKJV)
​My brothers and sisters, seek the Lord once again, He will be found if you seek with your whole heart; ask and He will give an answer; knock and you will see doors open. He who is called you is faithful to complete the work He has begun in you.