No one likes to wait for things. We pay extra money so we don’t have to wait in long security lines at the airport, we order food on our phone so that it’s ready when we arrive, and we pay for memberships to Amazon so that our online orders can be delivered to our homes the same day. But in our spiritual lives sometimes the only thing we can do is wait. Habakkuk is learning to wait on God in Habakkuk 3:16.
It’s important to remember that Habakkuk 3:16 comes right after the theophany of Habakkuk 3:3–15. In Habakkuk 3:3–7 we saw an awesome appearance of God. In Habakkuk 3:8–15 we saw the amazing acts of God. Thus, we now read about Habakkuk’s position as he responds to that theophany in Habakkuk 3:16: “I heard and my inward parts trembled, at the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will invade us” (NASB).[1]
In this verse we read aboutwho Habakkuk talks about,“For the people to arise who will invade us.” This refers to the nation of Babylon that will come punish Judah for their sins (Hab 1:6, 15).
In this verse we also read about what Habakkuk feels. “I heard and my inward parts trembled, at the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble.” Habakkuk is about to collapse. Habakkuk is paralyzed. This reminds us of Exodus 15:14 when the nations were trembling before God as God led Israel out of Egypt.
In this verse we also read about why Habakkuk feels fear, “Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will invade us.”The word “Because” is from the Hebrew word, ’esher which reveals the terrible devastations that God’s own people must undergo. This tells us why Habakkuk trembles. Habakkuk feels something is going to happen and he can’t do anything about it. Habakkuk is upset and distressed because nothing will stop the Lord’s punishment of Judah by the Babylonians.This is the reason the prophet trembles from head to toe. Habakkuk is upset because he must wait quietly for those plans to be fulfilled.
The lesson we learn from Habakkuk 3:16 is we rest while we wait for God to work. Habakkuk had been told these things will happen, and now Habakkuk waits for them to happen.Sometimes we have to wait while God does his work. That’s what Habakkuk has to do here. There’s nothing he can do but rest and wait for God to work. Habakkuk has learned how great God is, and now Habakkuk waits for the great God to do what he said he would.
I appreciate Dr. Taylor Turkington’s perspective on this verse in Habakkuk. She writes, “Habakkuk is afraid, yet there’s hope: he believes what God said. Even in his fear, even in panic, he believes God will do what he promised, which means he knows his powerful God will ultimately bring justice on the bloodthirsty and greedy coming their way.”[2]
Part of following God means learning to surrender and trust God. We need to learn to trust his character. That’s hard for some of us. We don’t like to trust others. We don’t like to surrender to others. But sometimes the only thing we can do is wait, just as Habakkuk did.
[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[2] Taylor Turkington, Trembling Faith: How a Distressed Prophet Helps Us Trust God in a Chaotic World (Brentwood, TN: B&H, 2023), 183.