The Storms Of Life Getting You Down?

Occasionally I have a chance to watch TV; recently I saw the Weather Channel show "Storm Stories." One fascinating part was the different ways people responded to the weather related crisis they experienced. Some respond in an upbeat "I will survive this" way, some give up, others are fatalistic, and many are a combination. A few talk about the role prayer and God had in their surviving and coping.

This reminds me that we face all kinds of storms in life. Some are weather related but most are not: storms like grief, disappointments, health problems, employment issues, and more. As Christians experience these, I see them coping in many ways as well. Some ways are helpful; however; many are not. That observation brought a question to my mind, "How should Christians respond and cope with both the storms and good times in life?"

Habakkuk was struggling to cope with and rise above the storms in his life. Storms like: (1) the increasing moral and spiritual decay in his society, (2) his perplexity coming from his observation that God seemed to tolerate the situation, (3) his prayers that seemed to be unanswered (4) his perception that God's solution that appeared worse than the problems.

When God told Habakkuk in 2:4 "the righteous will live by his faith." it is as if God said, "Habakkuk, I know you are terribly distressed by the spiritual storm sweeping through your country. You are puzzled and distressed by my solution. I know all this is very difficult. This is how you can cope, weather the storms, and come out even better. Remember I have made you righteous, and live every moment of your life by your faith in me."

We face similar storms today. No matter what our personality, background, or the details of the storm, we are to live out that same instruction.

First, as Christians, we always must remember that we can be righteous before God. That righteousness comes from God through the work of Jesus Christ, God the Son, on the cross for us. "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." {Ephesians 2:8-10}

God's comment to Habakkuk "the righteous will live by his faith." Is quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. Those quotes erase any doubt that this concept was just for Old testament times, it definitely is for today too and applies to you and me.

Secondly, this verse tells us how we are to live. When God says, "the righteous will live by his faith", the word "live" has the thought of a continuous action. As a one of God's righteous people, we are to be living a certain way 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year of our life from now on! This is a lifestyle and it is not a Sunday morning, or a fair weather thing. It is a lifestyle that enables us to go on with the good times and the storms.

In fact, God is so serious about this that we are told, "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." {Hebrews 10:38} That verse always hits me hard because I want God pleased with me, and you want that too.

Third, we are told what this lifestyle is, "the righteous will live by his faith." It is a lifestyle of faith! One part of it is our belief in God. Another part is our faithfulness to him every moment of our lives! As Paul puts it Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Habakkuk took this answer, lived it, and in chapter 3 we see the difference it made in how he coped with his storm. When we actually live out this faith - faithfully, it makes a huge difference in our lives and our outlook on life. I know it enables me to weather my storms and I pray it will help you too.

Whatever life throws your way, remember "the righteous will live by his faith."

Written by Rev. Daniel B. Baker October 2003



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