About the prophet Habakkuk, there is very little known. He wrote a little book of only three chapters. The first chapter tells the horrors of being in Jerusalem when the Babylonians (or Chaldeans) invade and subdue the country. Habakkuk spares no details of all they have suffered. It’s been really bad. The second chapter is God’s answer to the prophet’s question, “Why did this happen to us?” Your cities and your lives, God says, are built on sin: violence, plunder, drunkenness, and idolatry. Habakkuk does not argue with God. He knows it is the truth. And then the prophet takes a breath in the third chapter and prays to God in spite of it all. He remembers the glory and power of God at creation. And then he describes a faith that is not dependent on perfect times: “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines…yet I will rejoice in the Lord.” The prophet stubbornly retains his love for God though his circumstances are dire. He unpins his faith from what happens to him and his people and his country. He says, I believe, even though to another person, there would be ample reason to let faith go. He hangs on to God no matter what.
You and I may feel we are in one of those times where everything has gone down to darkness. People are sick, we are wearing masks and washing our hands and limiting where we go, we are apart from each other, businesses are failing, and people are fighting with each other about the proper response to it all. Habakkuk would say, “And yet? And yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will still trust God.”
There’s a song by a band called Train from 2003 entitled, “Calling all Angels.” In it the singer describes all the things that are wrong in the world, and then he sings, “I won’t give up, if you don’t give up.” Let’s promise each other, you and I, not to give up because we know God has not given up on us. We won’t give up because God has a loving hold on us all. We won’t give up, and we will keep a tight and stubborn hold on our faith. And the Lord’s grip will keep us together.