One of the outstanding things in the book of Habakkuk apart from the content of its message, is the conversational nature of the book. It is especially interesting how the prophet engaged in an interaction with God enquiring from God personally things that puzzled the prophet. The conversation reveals one aspect of God’s nature. It affirms God’s relational attribute and His willingness to relate to His people. All through the Bible God has shown that He is a God of relationship.
In the Old Testament, He used the He chose as prophets to be His mouthpieces to bring oracles to His people, Israel (2 Peter 1:20-21). In the New Testament and this dispensation, He speaks through Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Scripture (Hebrews 1:2, John 14:16, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The ways God converses with men in the end-time (the time that spans from the New Testament to the second coming of Jesus Christ) is more real than the period of the Old Testament. God could only speak basically through the prophets. But in this dispensation, He could speak through the three means stated above and not only that but dwell in the hearts of believers as well.
Jesus in John 14:23 says:
...anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
I am aware that this is a controversial discourse in the Church and I don’t mean to dabble into all of that. But one thing is certain, no one can scripturally and experientially deny the relational nature of God. God cannot have a nature today and tomorrow cease not to have. God cannot be relational in the Old and New Testament and cease to be afterward. God has not changed in His nature of personal relationship with His people. The means of communication may and does change. For instance, God spoke to His people in the Old Testament, particularly through the Prophets, He spoke in the gospel through Jesus Christ, and the end time through His written Word and the Holy Spirit. And in the Old Testament, the audible voice of God among the prophets was common.
However, the changes in God’s means of communication do not in any way change the truth about God’s nature and willingness to relate to His people personally. The Scripture and experience reveal that God communicates personally through the Holy Spirit in the following ways at this time:
A. Teaching: Jesus Promise the Church that: But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things… (John 14:26). God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit by giving us divine insight into the scriptures. Man has limitations in understanding the mind of God as revealed in the Scripture. God has to reveal Himself to our hearts by His Spirit as we study the scriptures. The Scripture says:
…these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them. In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1 Corinth 2:10-11).
This explains why a carnal man cannot accept the things of God (1 Corinth. 2:14). They won’t make sense to him because he studies and understands them only from human point of view.
B. A Reminder: One of the basic and trickiest things that stifles our spiritual growth is forgetfulness. In the parable of the Sower Jesus says one of the things Satan does when the Word of God is sown in our hearts is to snatch it away so that it will not have roots in our hearts (Matthew 13:19). Memorization and remembrance are one of the Christian virtue that lead to obedience while forgetfulness on the other hand leads to disobedience (Luke 8:15; James 1:25). Sad that the Christian discipline of memorization is no longer taken seriously in the Church today. Given the necessity of the ability to remember the Word of God, God speaks to us often in the heart by reminding us of a needed scripture at a given time to meet a particular need. Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is a requirement to keep in touch with God in this dimension.
C. Comfort: In times of hardship, God speaks comfort to His children through the Holy Spirit (John 14:16; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4). This is a special providence for God’s children to help us overcome the travails of life on earth. God, in omniscient nature, knowing that His children will go through hardship on earth, provides help by sending His Spirit to encourage and console His children through life.
It is one thing for God out of His nature to be willing to relate to His children personally and it is another thing altogether for His people to be willing to relate to Him in response and actually do so. For God to have much influence in our lives through our fellowship and communion with Him, we must be willing to engage the person of God like the prophet Habakkuk. This is what Jesus refers to as “worship in Spirit and truth (John 4:24).” The presence of God is what makes the difference; it is the substance that gives life and meaning to our relationship and fellowship with Him, without which our communion remains a shadow and a mere emotional religious rituals.