Shock and Awe

Look among the nations: Observe! Wonder and be astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if it were told. Habakkuk 1:5

God is working. Just because he said this in the past to a prophet who lived five hundred years before Jesus, doesn’t mean that these words are not for us today. Like a surgeon cracking a chest to replace clogged vessels on an ailing heart, God is working. We are astounded that such work produces health. Like Army Rangers storming a compound to destroy an enemy, God is working. We are astonished that such effort results in peace. Jesus picked up on these words and stated clearly that God was working in his day, through him. It wasn’t what people expected, and they didn’t believe it, though they were told. The Messiah on a cross was a stumbling block to his countrymen and foolishness to the nations. We are awestruck that such an outrage as the crucifixion of the Son of God accomplished redemption! So we shouldn’t be surprised when seemingly horrific events occur in our lives from time to time. Inexplicable as it may seem, God is at work. Shockingly, others may intend evil for us, but God intends good, that we might be conformed to the image of his Son, having faith pure as gold refined by the fire of God’s forge.

All-wise Father, enable me to look closely and to appreciate the wonder; then help me to rejoice with glory-filled joy.