Habakkuk 2:2 Then the LORD replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.”

This verse, with the one after it, has been given to this church several times by various people, and so is dearly loved. However, reading it just now, I got a fresh take on it that I’ve never thought of before. In those days, a clay or even wax tablet was like a piece of paper to us today. That is, a writing surface. In the past, I’ve read this verse and thought of a sign board, but wax tablets were used specifically because they could be erased. The NIV says “make it plain,” but the Japanese says, “confirm it.” That would be appropriate if it were jotted on a memo pad. Only then would a herald take the message and run with it. What I get from this is simply, when you hear from the Lord, write it down, make sure you got it right, and then get the word out. Actually, that’s exactly what I do with this blog. Every morning I spend time with the Lord, seeking to listen to what He will say to me through His Word, and then I write what I feel He is saying. However, I don’t immediately upload it; my wife checks it, not only for typographical errors, but also for places where my choice of words makes the meaning unclear. Only then do I upload it. I had never thought of this blog applying to this verse, and vice versa!

That is all very well and good, but the question then becomes, how am I to apply what I have been shown in ways I’m not doing now? I believe the answer lies in writing more. I have written a fair number of tracts, but I am to do more. I have this blog, but I am to be open to other avenues as well. However, anything I write is to be confirmed, checked by reliable, spiritually mature people before it is “put out there.” I’ve been given a gift for words, but I’m not to rely on the gift, and I’m certainly not to get puffed up about it. In the past, I’ve not responded all that well to editing! I am to seek to hear and communicate what God is saying, but do it in all humility, so that I won’t get in the way of the message.

Father, thank You for this Word this morning. Help me be faithful in obeying it. In the past I have used all sorts of excuses for not writing; keep me from those! And also, certainly, keep me from writing things I’m not applying in my own life. May I trust and obey You on every level, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!