Focal Passage: Habakkuk 3:1-6, 11-13, 16-19
The Grand Canyon is immense. The sweeping landscape of red-rock canyons and sinuous trails attracts nearly five million people every year.
The summer of my freshman year in college, I had the chance to visit the canyon while living as a North American Mission Board summer missionary in Phoenix, Ariz. The other students and I had been in town only a few weeks, but when a host family from our local association found out a few of the others had never seen the canyon, they made it their mission to get us there.
“You HAVE to visit the Grand Canyon,” they remarked, as if it was a rite of passage, a true welcome to their home state. So we packed into a church van and drove the three and a half hour trip to the national park. When we arrived, we filed out, walked around a bit, and then made our way to the rim. We chatted, laughed and joked, but the moment we glimpsed over the edge, we all stood silent.
The deep vastness and overwhelming grandeur was surprising. No matter how many photos you’ve seen, that first look at the canyon stuns you.
The draw of the Grand Canyon isn’t simply the overwhelming beauty; it’s the humbling wonder of standing near something so great, so different from your own self. No one feels invincible at the edge of the Grand Canyon.
In our passage for the week, Habakkuk is filled with a similar, though much greater, kind of awe.
The presence of God – His intimacy, faithful governance and power – overwhelmed Habakkuk to point of irresistible worship. Regardless of the power and wickedness of Babylon, God’s reign and good purpose were secure. No enemy feels invincible at the feet of the Lord.
Just as Habakkuk responded to God’s overwhelming presence and magnificent work with worship and trust, so too can we find security in God’s rule of all of creation and history. We can draw near to Him, rest in His strength and trust His good will, regardless of the unstable circumstances around us.