SPRUCESample

THE MODEL

You've got questions.

Things around you are falling apart. You want to know when God is going to act. You are confused by what is happening. You need direction when there is so much confusion.

That may describe your feelings, but it also describes how a man named Habakkuk felt facing the reality of his life. He was desperate for clarity and was certain it could only come from God. How he practiced stepping into God's presence to hear Him speak is a reliable model of how we can meet with God and hear from Him, too.

THE BACK STORY

Surprisingly, we have much in common with the enigmatic Old Testament prophet. Not much is known about Habakkuk outside what he shares in the brief book by his name but we know enough to relate to him. He lived in Jerusalem when the country was on the brink of national disaster. A corrupt king ruled as a worldwide power was closing in to destroy what remained of the crumbling country. Society was breaking down as the nation turned from God. Injustice and violence prevailed and there seemed little hope of rescue. In any news publication today, you might read just such a commentary on our own country.

Like us, Habakkuk had many questions about what God was doing (or not doing) and how to live for Him in such perilous times.

He said things to God like: "How long must I ask for help?" "Why must I witness evil?" "People are destroying things and hurting others." "Evil people gain while good people lose; the judges no longer make fair decisions."

And God responds to this man's appeal for understanding!

His short book records Habakkuk's honest back-and-forth conversation with God and gives us a model for stepping into God's presence and listening to hear God speak. This model can be summarized by the acronym S.P.R.U.C.E. And if you practice it, for even a few minutes each day, it will help you hear God speak as well.

THE MODEL

After asking God a series of blunt questions, he shows us his practice for hearing God speak. This is a prayer of the prophet Habakkuk:

I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will tell me to say and what answer he will give to my complaint. The Lord gave me this answer: “Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance. Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed. And this is the message: ‘Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.’ (Habakkuk 2:1-4)

O Lord,I have heard of what you have done,
and I am filled with awe.
Now do again in our times
the great deeds you used to do.
Be merciful, even when you are angry. (Habakkuk 3:1-2)

Habakkuk took six actions in hearing God speak. The model he set is one that can help us hear from God, too. Let's look at them one by one to see how we can SPRUCE our time with God.