Stand to be Corrected

 “I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.” Habakkuk 2:1 (ESV)

Habakkuk says “What I will answer when He corrects me.”

He says, essentially, “I am waiting to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer.”

That means he already understands that God may have something to say back to him.

And perhaps that's part of what makes his posture so different from ours sometimes. We bring God our complaint with an answer already formed in our minds.

Habakkuk brings God his complaint with the willingness to receive an answer that may change him.

I find this convicting because I don’t often wait for God’s reply to my questions or complaints. Nor do I often present them with a positive attitude or a willing heart, waiting to be corrected.

Habakkuk was genuinely questioning God’s plan because he didn’t understand what God was doing, but he knew God had the answers to his questions. He took his stand with an open posture, ready for correction.

Here’s the thing: 

God’s correction didn’t come with punishment.

The correction came with a fresh perspective.

God sees what we don’t see.

Habakkuk was looking at Judah's wickedness and then God's plan to use Babylon, and he couldn't reconcile what he saw with what he knew about God.

God didn't give him every detail of the plan.

He gave him a bigger view of who He was and what He was doing.

More times than I like to admit, I think I know best. I find myself overwhelmed with frustration and complaining to God, but rarely do I stand on the watch post and wait for God to show me a better perspective.

Many times, I treat the watch post like a podium. I step up to the podium, make my speech, and get off before there’s a response.

A podium is a place where I speak.

A watch post is a place where I look, listen, and wait.

That’s the significance of a watch post: to be on higher ground, taking a stand, and waiting. In a spiritual context, it’s waiting to hear God’s reply.

A watchman on his watch post is intentionally positioning himself to receive from God and to hear His voice.

When God responds, He essentially  responds with “Write this down.”

It’s interesting that God responded in this way.

He was teaching humility and reminding Habakkuk of who is in control.

God’s response wasn’t just for Habakkuk, but for him to share with others.

Someone else's willingness to stay on the watch post can give me perspective when I can't see clearly.

Oh, how grateful I am for the leaders and mentors in my life who have wrestled with God and gone before me, who can share His vision. Those who have walked with the Lord so that I can run the race set before me.

As I sit with this, I find myself asking: What might God be trying to show me or correct in me that I haven’t been willing to sit still long enough to hear?