Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,657
“The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
‘How long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, destruction and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
Therefore the law is ignored
And justice is never upheld.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out perverted.’” (Habakkuk 1:1-4 NASB1995)
Habakkuk was a man of God, a prophet of God, whose life was given over to the Lord in service to him to do his will. So he was deeply grieved in his spirit by all the wickedness that was going on inside of his own nation and among his own people. And he was distressed, too, for it appeared to him that God was not doing anything to correct the situation. And he could not understand why God allowed this to go on. So, he felt abandoned by God, as though God was turning a deaf ear to his pleas for help.
And if we look at what is going on in our own nations today, and in the world, and in the church – at least in the church here in America – then if we are at all in tune with God and with his voice and with his teachings in the Scriptures, it should grieve us, too, to see all the violence, the hatred, the lies, the deceptions, the trickery, the blasphemies against God, and the distortions of the character of God/Christ, and of his church, and of his gospel message, which are going on in the name of God and of Christ.
But in these times of difficulty and trials and tribulations, there may be times when we cry out to God for answers and we do not get a response that we are aware of. And so we may not know what the next step is, or how we are to move forward. And in these times the enemy may also be fiercely attacking us in our minds, attempting to interrupt our communications with the Lord, and/or to attempt to convince us that God is not listening or that he is not paying attention to what is happening all around us.
And so we may, too, feel ignored and abandoned by God, and we may begin to feel as though he is not listening to our pleas, because he has not yet rescued us from our difficult circumstances, which may be increasingly getting worse by the minute. And we may begin to feel anxious in our spirits and worrisome because we don’t know what is next or what we should do next. And we may begin to feel fearful about how this is all going to turn out and what the result might be if it goes not the way we had hoped it would.
For we do live in a very wicked world which has even infiltrated the gatherings (not all) of the church (or what are falsely being called “church”). And so much of what is called “church” are just businesses of human origin being marketed to the world just like any other business markets their products to the world. So it seems the majority of them in America have altered the gospel message to make it less offensive to the ungodly and more acceptable to human flesh in order to grow their numbers.
Therefore, we have a whole lot of people giving lip service to the Lord whose lives are not surrendered to Jesus Christ to do his will, who have not died with Christ to sin, but who are still living to please the sinful pleasures of their flesh. And we have many pastors who are teaching them that God does not require of them the forsaking of their sins and walks of obedience to the Lord. And so we have “churches” filled up with people giving lip service to God but who live no differently from those who do not profess that faith.
And so wickedness is abounding within the American church, at large, and it is not exclusive only to those who do not make professions of faith in Jesus. And the law of God (his New Covenant commandments) is being ignored, and justice is not being upheld, but it is being perverted. And the wicked are surrounding the righteous, and those who are living righteously in walks of obedience to the Lord are being persecuted and cast aside and even treated as though they are the enemy, because they are not like the worldly.
So, we must be patient with the Lord, for he never promised us that if we put our trust in him that life will be easy for us, or that we will not suffer injustices, or that if we tell the truth that we will not have people who won’t believe us. He promised us, in fact, that if we follow him with our lives that we will be treated as he was treated. We will be lied about and lied to and we will have people who do evil against us behind our backs and who betray our trust. And Satan wants to use these situations to bring us down!
So, no matter what happens, no matter how things turn out for us, or whether we are believed, or not, or whether justice is served, or not, or whether or not the evil continues much longer and the wicked continue to surround the righteous, through it all we must not lose faith. We must not lose hope. We must not let the devil get the best of us to where we begin to question the sovereignty of God. But we must trust our lives in the hands of the Lord, trusting him to work it all out in his timing, and then rest in HIM.
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-39; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]
It Will Be Worth It All
By Esther Kerr Rusthoi (1909-1962)
Sometimes the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God's eternal day.
Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,
We're tossed and driven on , no human help in sight;
But there is one in heav'n who knows our deepest care,
Let Jesus solve your problem - just go to Him in prayer.
Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past,
We'll cross the great divide, to glory, safe at last;
We'll share the joys of heav'n - a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished; we'll lay our burden down.
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.
Caution: This link may contain ads
How Long, O Lord?
An Original Work / May 16, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
‘How long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, destruction and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
Therefore the law is ignored
And justice is never upheld.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out perverted.’” (Habakkuk 1:1-4 NASB1995)
Habakkuk was a man of God, a prophet of God, whose life was given over to the Lord in service to him to do his will. So he was deeply grieved in his spirit by all the wickedness that was going on inside of his own nation and among his own people. And he was distressed, too, for it appeared to him that God was not doing anything to correct the situation. And he could not understand why God allowed this to go on. So, he felt abandoned by God, as though God was turning a deaf ear to his pleas for help.
And if we look at what is going on in our own nations today, and in the world, and in the church – at least in the church here in America – then if we are at all in tune with God and with his voice and with his teachings in the Scriptures, it should grieve us, too, to see all the violence, the hatred, the lies, the deceptions, the trickery, the blasphemies against God, and the distortions of the character of God/Christ, and of his church, and of his gospel message, which are going on in the name of God and of Christ.
But in these times of difficulty and trials and tribulations, there may be times when we cry out to God for answers and we do not get a response that we are aware of. And so we may not know what the next step is, or how we are to move forward. And in these times the enemy may also be fiercely attacking us in our minds, attempting to interrupt our communications with the Lord, and/or to attempt to convince us that God is not listening or that he is not paying attention to what is happening all around us.
And so we may, too, feel ignored and abandoned by God, and we may begin to feel as though he is not listening to our pleas, because he has not yet rescued us from our difficult circumstances, which may be increasingly getting worse by the minute. And we may begin to feel anxious in our spirits and worrisome because we don’t know what is next or what we should do next. And we may begin to feel fearful about how this is all going to turn out and what the result might be if it goes not the way we had hoped it would.
For we do live in a very wicked world which has even infiltrated the gatherings (not all) of the church (or what are falsely being called “church”). And so much of what is called “church” are just businesses of human origin being marketed to the world just like any other business markets their products to the world. So it seems the majority of them in America have altered the gospel message to make it less offensive to the ungodly and more acceptable to human flesh in order to grow their numbers.
Therefore, we have a whole lot of people giving lip service to the Lord whose lives are not surrendered to Jesus Christ to do his will, who have not died with Christ to sin, but who are still living to please the sinful pleasures of their flesh. And we have many pastors who are teaching them that God does not require of them the forsaking of their sins and walks of obedience to the Lord. And so we have “churches” filled up with people giving lip service to God but who live no differently from those who do not profess that faith.
And so wickedness is abounding within the American church, at large, and it is not exclusive only to those who do not make professions of faith in Jesus. And the law of God (his New Covenant commandments) is being ignored, and justice is not being upheld, but it is being perverted. And the wicked are surrounding the righteous, and those who are living righteously in walks of obedience to the Lord are being persecuted and cast aside and even treated as though they are the enemy, because they are not like the worldly.
So, we must be patient with the Lord, for he never promised us that if we put our trust in him that life will be easy for us, or that we will not suffer injustices, or that if we tell the truth that we will not have people who won’t believe us. He promised us, in fact, that if we follow him with our lives that we will be treated as he was treated. We will be lied about and lied to and we will have people who do evil against us behind our backs and who betray our trust. And Satan wants to use these situations to bring us down!
So, no matter what happens, no matter how things turn out for us, or whether we are believed, or not, or whether justice is served, or not, or whether or not the evil continues much longer and the wicked continue to surround the righteous, through it all we must not lose faith. We must not lose hope. We must not let the devil get the best of us to where we begin to question the sovereignty of God. But we must trust our lives in the hands of the Lord, trusting him to work it all out in his timing, and then rest in HIM.
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-39; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]
It Will Be Worth It All
By Esther Kerr Rusthoi (1909-1962)
Sometimes the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God's eternal day.
Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,
We're tossed and driven on , no human help in sight;
But there is one in heav'n who knows our deepest care,
Let Jesus solve your problem - just go to Him in prayer.
Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past,
We'll cross the great divide, to glory, safe at last;
We'll share the joys of heav'n - a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished; we'll lay our burden down.
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.
Caution: This link may contain ads
How Long, O Lord?
An Original Work / May 16, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
