Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then they sweep by like the wind; they transgress and become guilty; their own might is their god!”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, November 28, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The Chaldeans are coming! The Chaldeans are coming! And, wow, does Habakkuk paint a terrifying picture of them. These are the folks the prophet is crying out to God about: “Look at the violence! Where are you, God?!?” Most chilling about them is this last line, “Their own might is their god!” In other words, they worship their own power. Power is like that. When people have it, their greatest fear is that the will lose it. So they will do absolutely anything to maintain it, at the expense of people, of communities, of nations, or entire societies. Nothing else matters but that they get to have that power. It's a corrupting and all-consuming thing and, quite frankly, human beings aren’t equipped to wield it. When we have it, we sweep through our lives like the Chaldeans, either absorbing or destroying everything in our path. Whether our power exists in a tiny sphere of influence like a single family or the world stage, we “transgress and become guilty.” Habakkuk’s cries for help take on a poignancy and urgency when we realize that we are the Chaldeans in our own lives!
It takes work to recognize where we are misusing our power—we all have some of it. It takes work to accept where we do not have power—which is most places and circumstances. The good news is that God is right there with us in that work. God calls us back into right relationship, reminds us that God is the one who really has all power, encourages us to trust God with the big stuff so that we can work on being of love and service to the best of our ability in our own little worlds.
I find a great deal of relief when I recognize that my hands are locked in a white-knuckled grip on the reins of my life and make the intentional decision to let go of them. Running the universe is way above my pay grade. It’s better to let God be God.
Where do I find myself in the role of the Chaldeans in my own life?