THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH

See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright--but the righteous will live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

That the righteous will live by faith is first mentioned in Habakkuk.  It is God's intention for His people to trust in Him as they live out their lives on this earth.  There are times in life when our faith falters and we question God as Habakkuk did in chapter 1:2-4.  Life is hard.  Some problems cannot be solved politically.  Some problems cannot be solved financially.  Some problems cannot be solved by military action.  Some problems find no solution in science and medicine.  But, God asks that we trust Him even when our circumstances seem to say, "God is not there and, if He is, He does not care."

Three times in the New Testament Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted: Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38-39.  It is one of the foundation stones of Christian doctrine--trusting God for our life and our salvation in Jesus Christ.  We live life by His Word.

I do not know how, exactly, that this fits into end-times chronology, but God has promised that there is a time coming when the wrongs will be made right and "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14).  We look forward to that time!

The Faith life means this: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in God my Savior (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

I do not know what your circumstances are today.  We live in a fallen world, so most likely you have your troubles.  Do not turn from Christ. "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved" (Hebrews 10:39).

Our Father's Love,
Tom