ASK THE PASTOR WITH DALE RATZLAFF | Pastor and Founder, Life Assurance Ministries (1936–2024)
Do you believe there is a coming time of trouble? If so, how can we prepare for it?
The Bible tells us there will be a tribulation before Jesus returns as King to reign (Matt. 24:21). We also know that the outpouring of God’s wrath in judgment is not for believers but for unbelievers (Rom. 2:6-11; 1 Thess. 1:10). While there are differing opinions within Christianity regarding whether the church is present or absent during the final tribulation on the earth, we do know that those who are in Christ will experience tribulation while they are in the world (Jn. 16:33), but Jesus has overcome the world. Perhaps we can encourage our hearts from the little book of Habakkuk.
“How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and you will not hear?” This was the cry of Habakkuk some 2,600 years ago as he observed the demise of his culture. He witnessed violence, iniquity, and wickedness wherever he looked. There was strife and contention as the law was ignored; justice, he said, was never upheld. The wicked surrounded the righteous, and what little justice there was came out perverted.
As I write this it seems that Habakkuk may have looked ahead to this evening’s news: bribery, self-serving leaders, terrorism, immorality, and corruption in high places is everywhere we turn—you know the list. We cry out, “How long, O Lord, will you put up with this evil”?
As I write this it seems that Habakkuk may have looked ahead to this evening’s news: bribery, self-serving leaders, terrorism, immorality, and corruption in high places is everywhere we turn—you know the list. We cry out, “How long, O Lord, will you put up with this evil”?
I wonder if God’s answer to Habakkuk could be His answer to us as so much of our culture descends rapidly into the darkness of evil. It was not what Habakkuk expected, nor is it something we would desire. He was astonished that God would use the Chaldeans, who were even more wicked and violent than Judah, to correct His people. But He did. Later God judged the Chaldeans for their sin; He does keep an account with the nations.
As Habakkuk looked ahead to the coming devastation of his country, he uttered what would become Paul’s gospel theme: “the righteous will live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4). He prayed, “Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years…in wrath remember mercy” (Hab. 3:2). His vision seemed to encompass the ultimate Savior. “His radiance is like sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power” (Hab. 3:4).
As Habakkuk contemplated what was coming, he said, “I heard and my inward parts trembled, at the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble” (Hab. 3:16). He had to wait for the day of distress when the Chaldeans would invade, yet observe the power of his faith.
“Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet” (Hab. 3:17-19).
It is my prayer that each of us will have the faith that will see us through even the worst of times. Let us join Abraham, Habakkuk, and Paul and recognize that “the righteous will live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).†
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