Habakkuk 2:1-4 — I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

I’ve got this really good idea for a devotion — but it’s not right for today. Now, I know it would be really overblown to compare my little devotions to the prophet’s visions — but I do believe they have a time and place, so that one will have to wait.
Habakkuk came to understand about waiting. He had an attitude that I would love to say that I had consistently. He didn’t say “I’ve got it all figured out, so let me tell you”. He said, “I’ve told the Lord how I feel, and now I’m going to go to my place and listen … even though He’s probably going to correct me”. It’s a combination of openness and humility that seems a perfect foundation of faith.
The Lord’s response was wonderful. He told Habakkuk to write down the vision — on tablets, because the fulfillment was not going to be immediate. “Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” — It looks odd, but it’s God saying “Because it seems slow to you, doesn’t mean it’s slow to me!” It’s the same thought as 2 Peter 8-9:

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Trusting God’s perfect timing is really important. The pay-off is “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” It’s often used (it was even used by Paul) to have justification hang on belief. It might also be translated as “See, the one whose desires are not upright faints, but the godly one lives by his integrity.” The way the verse is referred to in the New Testament makes it clear that the contrast is between the man who trusts in his own judgment and the one who trusts in God’s perfect timing.
It becomes clear in Hebrews that the vision speaks of the Messiah — “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” (Hebrews 10:37-38)
All good things come, with God’s perfect timing!