Habakkuk 2:4

NASB	NLT	VOICE
4 “Behold, as for the impudent one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous one will live by his faith.	4 “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.	4 So I wrote, “Look how pompous he is! Something is not right in his soul; he is not honest and just. But the righteous one will live by his faithfulness.

The Proud Against the Righteous

The “proud one” referred here may refer to the Babylonians. They were arrogant and oppressive in their battles. The proud rely on their own strength and wisdom, going up against God. The soul of the proud shows how morally and spiritually corrupt they are. An “upright” soul is one that is in right standing with God. The proud go up against the righteous. The righteous in Judah were called to trust in God despite Babylon’s invasion. This shows that righteousness comes through faith, not works. Our faith is not merely belief, but a trust that leads to living a life in accordance with God’s will.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How have you checked your pride in the past? How did you replace your pride with humility?

Strength in our Faith

Our faith is not just something that we commit to one time and never again. It’s something that we are called to lean on each and every day so that we can sustain our lives and guide us towards the plan that God called us to live. Sometimes, when Christians turn to Jesus and claim Him as our Lord and Savior, they will make the one-time decision but then continue living a sinful life. The faith we have can easily wane away when we face struggles. Our struggles often overwhelm us and cause us to stay locked in on their chaos instead of the strength and stability of Yahweh. Have you ever felt like that? Where the stress and chaos of your current circumstances take our priority over our focus on prayer and faith.

It can be overwhelming. For me, this is when I take a minute to pause, breathe, and reflect. Pausing allows me to reflect on everything that’s ongoing. It’s an intentional time to just assess the situation for what it is. It’s not about problem solving. It’s about being aware and present. To assess the current situations and emotions of the moment and take inventory of everything. Breathing allows me to clear my head and calm my heightened emotions. When I’m in a place of heightened emotions – I am not rationally thinking. I am not being intentional with my words or actions. I am acting out in the moment, not worrying about any potential consequences. To breathe is a way to bring my nervous system out of a place of fight or flight, and to a place of calm and focus. Reflecting allows me to plan my way forward. It could be through talking it out, distracting myself in the short-term, or truly focusing on how I can both overcome and/or avoid this situation in the future. Overall, I can’t do this on my own. I need God’s guidance, patience, and wisdom to get through this. I can find strength in this through my own faith, learning how it worked for me before and how it can work again now.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Have you been able to pause recently? To take inventory of how you are feeling in this moment. If not – do so quickly. Let us know how you feel afterward.

PRAY Action

Praise God for his calming presence. For the ability to rest on his strength and provision through our faith in His works and promises.

Read Romans 1:17

Ask God for ways to strengthen your faith. Take an assessment of where your faith is right now and how you can strengthen it in the future.

You are an overcomer. You are not the trials and tribulations that have followed you through life. You are a child of God, resting on the strength of your relationship with your Heavenly Father.