Unbelievable Success

  

"Look among the nations and watch -- be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you." (Habakkuk 1:5)

 

Dr. Erwin Lutzer, pastor of the Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, wrote a wonderful book with a complete message just in the title: Failure -- The Back Door to Success. His point was that a failure or defeat is often the very thing God uses to open the door to victory or success in an unexpected way.

The prophet Habakkuk had just such an epiphany just before the Babylonian destruction of Judah. His prophecy is unique in the Old Testament because it is not addressed to the nation but to God. His questions for God -- "Why are You allowing wickedness to run rampant and are doing nothing about it?" -- reflected the heart of the righteous in Judah. It appeared that God was allowing the nation to fail -- something Habakkuk couldn't understand. God's answer to Habakkuk was that He was about to do something in Judah that Habakkuk wouldn't have believed if he hadn't heard it from God Himself.

When you find yourself on the verge of defeat, look for what God will do to surprise you. And allow Him to determine the definition of victory!