Habakkuk danced. This old testament prophet always brought his problems and his doubts to God instead of people. Habakkuk had come to God in grief because of the sin of his country (I can certainly identify with that!) He begged God to intervene. God answers "yes"...but the way He intervenes is by sending the Babylonian army to invade Judah and take the Jewish people captive. God's answer throws Habakkuk into total confusion. How could God do this?

How often do we come to God with our concerns, with our problems, with our doubts...and then we are confused by His answer. We go to God with complaint and already have in mind what His answer should be...(I can't remember a time when His answer was what I thought it would be). We come, not with contrite hearts, bowed down in worship, but with agendas and manipulations and control. We do not place our concerns at the foot of the cross, but we hold them with vice grip like hands, unwilling and unable to let go. We have our own idea of justice, and it rarely includes our self,ur family and friends,  or our country. Something is always wrong with the "other guy".

It is just human nature...Habakkuk, and you and me, we can't help complaining...there is a lot to complain about. After all "they" are always doing something wrong. I mean, "seriously God, how can you let this continue to happen", we think smugly. "You have to do something now!" we demand. But when God comes with his answer we struggle, we sputter, we tuck tale and run, holding grudges for the severity of His justice, never completely understanding our own rebellion.

The closest we will ever come to seeing the corrupted mess of our nature is in someone else. It is just the way it is, we sneer and snicker and point out flaws in everyone and anyone else, completely unaware of our own deviant ways.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" - Matthew 7:3

God doesn't pull any punches!...one bible translation actually says tree instead of plank...comparing a speck of dust to a tree...are we getting how ridiculous our self justifications appear to God! We are not fooling Him, and when we come to Him like a little brother, tattling on our Big sister, He will impart justice...we never see it coming and then run away in a temper tantrum defiant, kicking and screaming with a raised fist and a closed heart.

Habakkuk did something different...He worshiped! As the book of Habakkuk progresses, this prophet moves from challenging God to worshipping Him.

"But the Lord is in His Holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him." - Habakkuk 2:20

The book ends with his statement of faith:"Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation" - Habakkuk 3:18

The word rejoice is very descriptive in the Hebrew language. It literally means to "spin around for joy". Habakkuk declared that when the invasion by the Babylonians came, he would be dancing, he would spin around with joy. He had bowed his will to God's will, even when he didn't understand, and he vowed to demonstrate his trust with exuberant worship.

Some people when they don't trust God may say in a resigned way,"Okay God, I'll trust you." But how many will spin around for joy in their God when He makes no sense? Habakkuk was secure in God. He knew that the will of God would never take him where the grace of God would not protect him.

I want a heart of worship like that! I want to dance and spin joyously in the midst of any situation because I trust God....

Excuse me, I have to go now, I have some dancing to do!