Join me for my Sunday message, the next in the series from the Oracle of the Prophet Habakkuk, "A Prayer for Renewal."

After two sessions of complaint from the Prophet and a pair of responses from God, Habakkuk offers a prayer for renewal in the form of a song which likely was used in later generations as a lament in Jewish worship. In the prayer/song the Prophet pleads with God "in wrath, remember mercy." In His sovereign plan, God will in fact severely discipline Judah for their many sins, but His wrath would be limited so that a remnant would survive and return.

The prayer itself is a song of affirmation describing the historical works and wonders of God. In typical fashion as we see in the Old Testament literature, in times of severity when outcomes were uncertain, prophets would often utter words to remind the people of God's past dealing with them and their enemies. Even though God would follow through with His plans to send them into exile, yet He gave the Prophet a word of hope in a song.

We are living in such times currently. Uncertainty, fear and anxiety are in epidemic proportion in our culture. Predictions as to the future are all over the map and no one seems to be able to predict the outcomes. If we ever needed a word of hope pointing us to a God who still rules and reigns over the affairs of men, it is now.