This Is Not How Things Are Supposed to Be
Day 1: When the World Feels Wrong
Reading: Habakkuk 1:1-13
Habakkuk's anguished cry echoes through the ages: "Why do you remain silent when the wicked swallow up the righteous?" Like the prophet, we encounter moments when the world feels fundamentally broken—when violence, injustice, and suffering seem to go unchecked. Genesis 34 forces us to confront this reality without sanitizing it. God's silence in that chapter isn't indifference; it's a mirror reflecting what happens when humanity operates apart from His shalom. Today, resist the temptation to look away from brokenness. Instead, let the discomfort drive you deeper into prayer. Cry out to God like Habakkuk did. Your honest lament is not a lack of faith—it's the beginning of seeking His kingdom more desperately.
Day 2: Caring for the Forgotten
Reading: Matthew 25:31-40
In Genesis 34, everyone had an agenda—except caring for Dinah. She became a pawn in political maneuvering, family honor, and revenge plots. No one simply sat with her in her suffering. Jesus presents a radically different way: whatever we do for "the least of these," we do for Him. How often do we use the suffering of others as talking points for our causes while failing to actually comfort them? Today, identify one person in your sphere who is hurting—someone overlooked, marginalized, or forgotten. Don't politicize their pain or use it for your platform. Simply be present. Send a message. Offer practical help. Embody the Jesus who meets people in their suffering and walks alongside them.
Day 3: The Danger of Unchecked Loyalty
Reading: 1 Kings 22:1-28
Four hundred prophets told King Ahab what he wanted to hear. Only Micaiah spoke truth, and he was hated for it. When loyalty to a leader, movement, or nation supersedes our commitment to righteousness, we create fertile ground for evil to flourish unchecked. Even God's chosen people—Israel itself—committed atrocities that God condemned through His prophets. The question for us: Are we willing to call out injustice even when it comes from "our side"? True faithfulness to God means celebrating righteousness wherever it's found and confronting wickedness wherever it exists—even within our own camps. Today, examine your allegiances. Are there areas where you've excused wrong because of team loyalty? Ask God for courage to value truth over tribal affiliation.
Day 4: The Sound of God's Silence
Reading: Romans 1:18-32
God's silence in Genesis 34 is deafening and deliberate. It shows us what the world looks like when humanity is left to itself—chaos, violence, exploitation, and moral collapse. Romans 1 describes how God sometimes gives people over to their own desires, allowing them to experience the consequences of rejecting Him. This isn't divine abandonment; it's divine instruction. The horror we feel when reading Genesis 34 or watching the news should awaken in us a desperate hunger for God's presence and intervention. We cannot stand on our own merits or ethics. We need a Savior. Today, let the brokenness you witness—in the world and in yourself—drive you to cry out: "Bless us, curse us, but do not stay silent, God."
Day 5: Longing for What Should Be
Reading: Revelation 21:1-7
Genesis 34 ends without resolution, without justice, without healing. It leaves us aching, unsatisfied, knowing deep in our souls that "this is not how things are supposed to be." That ache is a gift. It's the groan of creation waiting for redemption. Every injustice we witness, every story that breaks our hearts, every moment we cry "How long, O Lord?" increases our longing for God's kingdom to come in fullness. Revelation promises a day when God will wipe away every tear, when death, mourning, and pain will be no more. Until that day, we live between the already and the not yet, working for justice while longing for ultimate restoration. Today, let your heartbreak over this broken world fuel your prayer: "Maranatha—come quickly, Lord Jesus."
Reading: Habakkuk 1:1-13
Habakkuk's anguished cry echoes through the ages: "Why do you remain silent when the wicked swallow up the righteous?" Like the prophet, we encounter moments when the world feels fundamentally broken—when violence, injustice, and suffering seem to go unchecked. Genesis 34 forces us to confront this reality without sanitizing it. God's silence in that chapter isn't indifference; it's a mirror reflecting what happens when humanity operates apart from His shalom. Today, resist the temptation to look away from brokenness. Instead, let the discomfort drive you deeper into prayer. Cry out to God like Habakkuk did. Your honest lament is not a lack of faith—it's the beginning of seeking His kingdom more desperately.
Day 2: Caring for the Forgotten
Reading: Matthew 25:31-40
In Genesis 34, everyone had an agenda—except caring for Dinah. She became a pawn in political maneuvering, family honor, and revenge plots. No one simply sat with her in her suffering. Jesus presents a radically different way: whatever we do for "the least of these," we do for Him. How often do we use the suffering of others as talking points for our causes while failing to actually comfort them? Today, identify one person in your sphere who is hurting—someone overlooked, marginalized, or forgotten. Don't politicize their pain or use it for your platform. Simply be present. Send a message. Offer practical help. Embody the Jesus who meets people in their suffering and walks alongside them.
Day 3: The Danger of Unchecked Loyalty
Reading: 1 Kings 22:1-28
Four hundred prophets told King Ahab what he wanted to hear. Only Micaiah spoke truth, and he was hated for it. When loyalty to a leader, movement, or nation supersedes our commitment to righteousness, we create fertile ground for evil to flourish unchecked. Even God's chosen people—Israel itself—committed atrocities that God condemned through His prophets. The question for us: Are we willing to call out injustice even when it comes from "our side"? True faithfulness to God means celebrating righteousness wherever it's found and confronting wickedness wherever it exists—even within our own camps. Today, examine your allegiances. Are there areas where you've excused wrong because of team loyalty? Ask God for courage to value truth over tribal affiliation.
Day 4: The Sound of God's Silence
Reading: Romans 1:18-32
God's silence in Genesis 34 is deafening and deliberate. It shows us what the world looks like when humanity is left to itself—chaos, violence, exploitation, and moral collapse. Romans 1 describes how God sometimes gives people over to their own desires, allowing them to experience the consequences of rejecting Him. This isn't divine abandonment; it's divine instruction. The horror we feel when reading Genesis 34 or watching the news should awaken in us a desperate hunger for God's presence and intervention. We cannot stand on our own merits or ethics. We need a Savior. Today, let the brokenness you witness—in the world and in yourself—drive you to cry out: "Bless us, curse us, but do not stay silent, God."
Day 5: Longing for What Should Be
Reading: Revelation 21:1-7
Genesis 34 ends without resolution, without justice, without healing. It leaves us aching, unsatisfied, knowing deep in our souls that "this is not how things are supposed to be." That ache is a gift. It's the groan of creation waiting for redemption. Every injustice we witness, every story that breaks our hearts, every moment we cry "How long, O Lord?" increases our longing for God's kingdom to come in fullness. Revelation promises a day when God will wipe away every tear, when death, mourning, and pain will be no more. Until that day, we live between the already and the not yet, working for justice while longing for ultimate restoration. Today, let your heartbreak over this broken world fuel your prayer: "Maranatha—come quickly, Lord Jesus."