Habakkuk in Zimbabwe | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Habakkuk in Zimbabwe | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction:

"How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. (Hab. 1:2-4)

Over the last five years, I have preached often from Habakkuk. I stress the fallenness of our world and the need to be realistic about human wickedness. But Habakkuk also stresses that history demands a judgment. If God is just, there must be a judgment one day — maybe not in this life but certainly in the life to come. God's answer to our struggles with evil and evil men and women in this world is, 'The righteous will live by faith — our loyalty to God in spite of the godlessness of others.' We're getting lots of practice.

Daily life in Zimbabwe is the painful reality of starvation, AIDS, and violence. Most families are fortunate if they can have one solid meal a day. There is no food on the shelves, there are no medicines in hospitals, and no one can afford to buy from the drugstores. ..."

This article by an anonymous Zimbabwean minister reminds all of us that what has been happening in Zimbabwe is more than just political and factional violence; there are real people affected and some of them are our fellow Christians.