從迷惘到信靠
嚴重的絆腳石
經文
哈巴谷書一1-4
1先知哈巴谷所得的默示。
2他說:耶和華啊!我呼求你,你不應允,要到幾時呢?我因強暴哀求你,你還不拯救。
3你為何使我看見罪孽?你為何看著奸惡而不理呢?毀滅和強暴在我面前,又起了爭端和相鬥的事。
4因此律法放鬆,公理也不顯明,惡人圍困義人,所以公理顯然顛倒。
信息分享
昨天我們說要展開一段新的旅程,這旅程會顯示一些步驟,是我們從迷惘走到信靠,或是從恐懼走到信心所需要採取的。這段特別旅程的地圖是舊約一卷小而重要的書卷──哈巴谷的預言。我們對哈巴谷個人生命的背景──他的家庭、父母或職業──知道得很少,但我們知道他是希伯來人,也是耶利米先知同時代的人。
哈巴谷似乎是以向神提出一個尖銳的問題來開始他的先知事奉,那就是今天的經文所提出的問題。好像舊約很多其他的先知一樣,哈巴谷因為邪惡的不止息而感到迷惑和沮喪。他不明白為甚麼神不介入制止他周圍那些不敬虔的列國。全能者在處理這個問題上似乎有耽延,導致他感到十分迷惘和憂慮。那拉莫博士(Clyde Narramore)說:「迷惘是基督徒生命中其中一塊最大的絆腳石。它令很多基督徒陷於絕望的邊緣。」
多年前,我在美國遇到一個人,他戴著一塊刻有B.A.I.K.幾個字母的牌。我問他那是甚麼意思時,他說:「天啊,我真的很迷惘」(Boy Am I Confused)。我說:「但『迷惘』這個字開頭的字母不是K。」他很快地回答:「所以嘛,你看我是多麼的迷惘」。你是否為了自己屬靈生命的某些事情而感到迷惘?如果是,那就要注意了──神幫助哈巴谷由迷惘走到信靠,祂為哈巴谷所做的事,也會為你做的。
「為甚麼神不介入?」
進深研究
詩七十一1-24;雅三16;林前十四33
1. 詩人提出甚麼要求?
2. 他的正面認信是甚麼?
祈禱
天父,當迷惘圍繞我、絆倒我的時候,求您幫助我仍可以跪下感謝您。求您今天把「黎明前的時刻總是最黑暗」這個真理深深印在我的心坎裡。阿們。
From Confusion to Confidence
A serious stumbling - block
Bible reading:
Habakkuk 1:1-4
1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
Message
Yesterday we said that we are starting out on a journey that will reveal the steps we need to take in order to move , or from fear to faith. Our map for this special journey is a small but significant book of the Old Testament - the prophecy of Habakkuk. We know very little about the personal details of Habakkuk's life - his home, his parents or his occupation - but we do know that he was a Hebrew and a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah.
Habakkuk, it seems, began his prophetic ministry by asking God a pointed question - the one posed in our text today. Like many other prophets of the Old Testament, Habakkuk was perplexed and frustrated by the continuance of evil. He could not understand why God did not intervene to restrain the godless nations around him. The Almighty's apparent slowness in dealing with this issue produced within him a good deal of confusion and concern. "Confusion," says Dr Clyde Narramore, "is one of the biggest stumbling-blocks in the Christian life. It has brought many a Christian to the edge of despair."
Some years ago I met a man in the United States of America wearing a badge on which were inscribed the initials B.A.I.K. When I asked him what they meant he said: "Boy Am I Confused". I countered: "But you don't spell 'confused' with a K." He promptly replied: "Well, that shows you how confused I am." Are you confused about something in your spiritual life at this moment? Then take heart - God helped Habakkuk to move . And what He did for Habakkuk, He will also do for you.
"Why did God not intervene?"
Prayer
Father, I am grateful that when confusion surrounds me and I stumble - I can stumble onto my knees. Drive deep into my consciousness today the truth that the darkest hour is always the hour that precedes the dawn. Amen.
Further study
Psalm 71:1-24
James 3:16
1 Corinthians 14:33
1. What was the psalmist's request?
2. What was his positive confession?
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背景音樂版權屬 讚美之泉音樂事工 所有,承蒙允准使用。

