Scripture for Today: Habakkuk 2:1 “I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved.”

The view from the ramparts of Haut Koenigsbourg seems to go on forever on a clear day!  This castle was less than an hour from our house and we often took visitors there.  Half the fun is walking these ramparts and identifying the villages in the distance!

Today it is all about tourism, but when this castle was inhabited, these ramparts were important for security.  Its elevated position gave those on watch ample time to see approaching danger and prepare to meet it.

In our verse for today Habakkuk is standing on the ramparts.  He is watching, but not for the enemy.  This prophet of God is wondering when God will deliver them from the evil and violent Chaldeans.  He is watching and waiting expectantly for God to answer.  I can just see him, shielding his eyes and squinting into the distance, thinking, “How long?”  He expects the Lord to reprove him for all his questions and his doubts.  But God does not.  Instead, he is promised that a vision is coming describing the destruction of their enemy.  “Though it tarries, wait for it; it will certainly come.” (verse 3)  So, Habakkuk still had to wait, but with a promise.

God asks me to wait too.  He allows those delays to test my faith.  Having to wait develops in me patience, calm, serenity and strength.  I am to watch and to wait on those ramparts, looking for His answers.  But I wait with His precious promises in my heart, and that makes all the difference!

Lord, help me keep watch with faith!

(Look familiar?  This is a summer re-post due to ministry schedule.)