Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
10/27/2022
WHEN CALAMITY & DEATH COMES — THERE IS STILL HOPE & VICTORY
HABAKKUK 1:5-6; 2:4, 14; 3:17-19A “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own”.
Habakkuk (huh-BAK-uhk) prophesied as the southern kingdom of Judah faced imminent invasion by the Chaldeans (Babylonians) and as the wickedness of his own people grew. As Habakkuk saw the wickedness of both his own people and the wickedness of the invaders God was choosing to use as an instrument of correction, he questioned God.
His first question (1:1-4) inquires about God’s forbearance for the wickedness of Judah.
His second question (1:12-17), in light of God’s answer to his first question, expresses dismay that God would use the Chaldeans (who were more wicked than Judah, in Habakkuk’s estimation) to punish Judah.
Finally, the prophet ends the book with a hymnic prayer, confessing his confidence in God and servitude to the will of God in the face of certain catastrophes. Nestled into these questions and God’s responses in this short book are principles of hope that every believer can rely on when their environment is chaos when wicked people flourish, and when we seek certainty for today.
I want to share a story of Victory in the midst of persecution.
Four masked gunmen charged into Mohammad Yousuf Bhat’s home on the evening of July 1, 2015, pushed his wife aside, and demanded to talk to him. After he stepped forward, the gunmen escorted the 43-year-old father of three outside his home in the Kashmir Valley and shot him seven times, killing him. Those who worked with Yousuf describe him as being a fearless, bold and passionate believer who “would not be quiet about Christ.”
While India is nearly 81 percent Hindu, the territory of Jammu and Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. Yousuf discussed the Islamists’ efforts to stop the spread of Christianity and the fear this caused among Christians. “In Kashmir, we can see the Islamic leaders start a movement to crush the believers in Kashmir valley, but this book [the Bible] changed my life,” he said.
“I want to share my testimony of it.”
“I got lots of persecution to my family,” he said. “My son was tortured. My daughter was also tortured by different people. Of course we get persecuted to [the] body, but inside we are getting so much peace.” Yousuf was grateful for how these experiences increased his faith and helped him experience the peace of God. Citing Matthew 5:10, he said the persecution was a blessing.
Before his death, Yousuf knew there were plans to kill him. However, he forgave those who persecuted his family and plotted his death. “God bless them,” he said. “Our prayer is that God will open their ‘spiritual eyes.’ So we are praying for them.”
The week before he was killed, Yousuf visited 13 of the house churches that he and others had started, challenging each group to remain faithful. He also asked them to continue his work should anything happen to him.
“This is not a religion we can see; this is a freedom,” he said. “[Jesus] takes me out of darkness and into the light of the Lord. We are praying that there will be open worship of the Lord. This is the main burden in our hearts. My prayer is, when I see stars, like every evening, I want to see that many believers in Kashmir Valley. God give us power and victory in Kashmir.”
There is Hope in face of calamity, persecution, and darkness. “But the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4): We in America do not know that level of persecution but we do know about censorship, the taking of our freedom of speech, and our religious beliefs. But so many shrink back in their expression and boldness to hold fast to their faith and expression of faith by sharing their testimony of faith, freedom, and hope in Jesus.
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). God’s promise is to work through believers like this dad who died for Christ and it should exhort us to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord and speak out about how Christ changed our lives. How, despite the suppression of God in almost every environment today, we are to be His light and salt to this decaying land.
Habakkuk 1:5-6 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. … For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea”.
“The earth belongs to the Lord as the psalmist declared in Psalm 24:1. 2.
This promise is certain and (“will be”). Be inspired by this young man who gave his life to Christ and be all the Holy Spirit has called you to be.
Let us begin today with a bold prayer and a Godly purpose.
Excerpts are taken from the Voice of the Martyrs
Habakkuk 2:4, 14 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength. Habakkuk 3:17-19a
