How Long?
My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD–how long? Psalm 6:3
“How long” will we have to live facing the daily intrusive, ungodly, and discouraging news – from all over the world. We face God, knowing of His judgment. I fear it is upon us.
This question of “How long?” is asked 53 times in the Bible. I always remember its being asked by Habakkuk because I empathized with his angst several years ago, when I first studied it (and still do). His question was directly related to the violence and sin he was witnessing every day. Does that sound familiar?
Habakkuk asked, O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Habakkuk 1:2
God’s answer was not what Habakkuk (or I) was expecting. He said that in response to all the violence, He was going to bring the Chaldeans down to take Israel in battle and lead them off to exile.
That was God’s answer to “how long?”
Interestingly, when God asks “How long?” in the scriptures, they are questions that apply to us today.
He asked it of Pharaoh when he refused to do what God had sent word for him to do: So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Exodus 10:3a
Then, to Moses when he didn’t stop the people from going out to look for manna on the Sabbath: And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?” Exodus 16:28
God’s Word through Elijah, to the people of Israel when they were worshiping other gods also included the question: And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:21
How long, as a nation, will we refuse to humble ourselves before God and recognize that His ways are higher (better for us, more valuable and, and with an outcome we cannot achieve without Him) than our ways?
How long will it be before we see His commandments and His laws are not just the way to act in church or within our Christian families? These are commandments and laws that will improve our societies.
And, how long will we pretend to be following God, speaking of Him in glowing terms, but serving idols thinking He doesn’t notice that we are not proclaiming Him as the One True God?
Habakkuk came to the point where he trusted whatever God would do as the best plan possible. As Elijah had advised others earlier, he decided to follow God no matter what. (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
Will we trust God with every new incident –even political?