Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faithfulness. – Habakkuk 2:2-4
Covid has finally hit my household. Two of the four of us have tested positive and are feeling a bit sick, like a bad cold. I currently have no symptoms and have tested negative. By the time you read this, though, I have no idea what the situation will be. It may be that I feel fine and that I have managed to avoid catching it. It may be that I am in the midst of it, feeling ill. Or I may have gotten it and be passed it. All are possible. I have no idea. All plans for the next week are now rendered completely uncertain. It is too bad that it is a week that was particularly full of exciting plans; we were finally going to get to many things that have been put on hold for months and months.
All of this uncertain is precisely what has been challenging about the whole pandemic process. Every time it seems like there is some traction to move forward, another round hits and everything is up in the air again. What I think is most bothersome to us, though, is that reveals to us how uncertain everything about life always is. Right now we have a specific reason that makes the chaos of existence more visible to us, but the reality is that life has always been chaotic and uncertain. Most of us have lived the bulk of our lives in relatively stable times and situations that have masked the uncertainty. Because of this, it is surprising to us when a reminder bursts through that we are not in charge of the world. We do not control nearly as much about our lives as we like to think we do. The unexpected can burst through at any time.
Habakkuk was a prophet entrusted with a message. Yet one of the issues with prophets is their reliability. So many people claim to speak for God. How do we know they are trustworthy? God answers this question to Habakkuk with the phrase that becomes famous, “the righteous live by their faithfulness.” There are two ways to take this phrase. One is that righteous people can endure the uncertainties of this world through being faithful to God. In this sense, God is a protector who stays with us through the chaos that hits us throughout our lives. We, then, are called to trust God with our whole lives. Such trust will see us through. The other way to take it is that God’s vision of love is trustworthy or faithful. God will not waver from God’s commitment to be with us. Even when everything else falls apart, God’s intention to bring reconciliation, justice, and meaning into the world is reliable or faithful. I think we can take something important from each of these interpretations. While every day is uncertain and it seems that the world is out of control, God remains faithful to us and so we are called to put our trust in God.
Whatever happens in these next days of Covid – or next months – or whatever other plans we may try to make that fall through, the foundation of everything is not what we accomplish or fail to accomplish, but rather that God will remain faithful and will not depart from us, no matter what happens.