Crisis! What crisis?

Like the words, "Beam me up Scottie", that were never actually spoken in the first Star Trek TV series, those words in the heading were not uttered by Prime Minister James Callaghan. They were used by a tabloid newspaper as a headline - but they did seem to express the attitude of the British government at the time. And we certainly live in critical times ourselves, as the world seems to be heading towards financial meltdown.

Of course, crisis is part and parcel of the life of each one of us. And the Bible doesn't try to hide that fact. A read of the stories of people like Moses, and Ruth, and David; of Peter, and Paul, and the Lord Jesus Himself, will quickly make that clear.

One man who recognised a crisis, when he saw one, was the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. Reading the first few verses of his prophecy is like reading tomorrow morning's newspaper! He sees violence, injustice, social unrest, the perpetrators of crime being treated better than the victims. And then, to make matters worse, YHWH (the LORD) informs him that He is going to send judgment upon the people of Judah in the form of the Babylonian (read Iraqi) army - well known at that time (about 2,600 years ago) as ruthless and merciless.

So how did Habakkuk deal with this situation? First of all, he wasn't afraid to vent his feelings to God! But then, he listened to God! Finally, he acknowledged God's sovereignty and justice. The closing words of his prayer of faith (Chap.3) are amazing. "Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labour of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, Aand there be no herd in the stalls - Yet I will rejoice in YHWH, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The YHWH Eloah is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet,And He will make me walk on my high hills." (Hab 3:17-19, NKJV)

This wasn't a change of circumstances. It was a change of the man in the circumstances! And that is, so often, the way in which God works. Jesus certainly made it clear that following Him would not make life into a bed of roses - and the experience of persecuted believers in North Korea, China, Vietnam, parts of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and more than fifty countries around the world, today, would certainly bear that out. Yet, still, people in these countries are accepting the Gospel of Jesus in increasing numbers. As one of the early church fathers is reported as having said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed-bed of the church."

As we in "the West" face up to our financial crisis; as we face our personal crises on a daily basis; may we be found, like Habakkuk, rejoicing in the Lord, knowing that, for those who have placed their trust in Him, all things really do work together for good. (see Rom.8:28)