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DAY 262, or September the 19th. Always be ready to progress. Our thoughts today are

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from Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 1. I will stand at my watch, and station myself on the ramparts.

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I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse. As the exile approaches, Habakkuk comes on

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the scene, and is amazed that God is planning to use the unclean pagans from Babylonia

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to carry out his plans. Things are going from bad to worse as the people of Judah insist

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on disobeying God. Despite his many questions and doubts, Habakkuk remains faithful, and

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right at the end writes these words, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful

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in the God of my salvation. He just knew that God knows best, every time.

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And now today's action step. Despite his reservations, Habakkuk stays alert and ready

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to act for God. What a lesson for all of us! Too many times we attempted to withdraw from

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Christian things when God has so much more for us to do. I knew a lady who was eighty

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years old when she was converted. I had the privilege of baptizing her, despite an injury

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to her leg, which should have cautioned her to delay, but anyone who knew Ivy knew that

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she wouldn't. She often mentioned to me that she wanted to make the most of the years she

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had left. I don't know a better way to do this, and be alert and ready to hear God's

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word, than to regularly get into the Bible. Maybe you have already wasted years and now

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want to waste no more. Listening to this book is a great start. Get into the Bible and listen

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to what God is saying to you, then act on it. Pretty simple, really. That's not the

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same as easy. Over the past few years I have become more and more intrigued by how useful

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listening to the Bible can be compared to just reading it. Listening as you drive or

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walk or even work in the garden, there are lots of styles to choose, but I still think

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the audio version of Step by Step is the best.