Totally Forgiving God — R.T. Kendall

Habakkuk and the Problem of Evil

I want to read to you from the Old Testament book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk, the prophet, is one of the first persons that we know of who totally forgave God. Now, this may seem to be a strange subject, but I will make it clear.

First of all, God is guilty of nothing. His ways are perfect, He is just, He is holy, He has never made a mistake. But what I shall show I think will be clear to you. Habakkuk needed to forgive God because of what he had gone through.

He wanted to know, why does God allow evil? I want to read to you from Habakkuk chapter 2 beginning at verse 1. And so he may run. Who reads it? And then we read, As one version put it, it speaks of the end.

It will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. And the Hebrew literally reads, the righteous, the just, will live by God's faithfulness.

Habakkuk’s Rejoicing in Hardship

Now I want us to go to chapter 3 where we find that Habakkuk came to the place that he could understand what God was up to. And he makes an amazing transition. Now when I read this verse, I need to remind everyone, there were times that they didn't have electricity, they didn't have food in the freezers.

It was an era when they lived day by day. And this is the way Habakkuk put it. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive field and the fields yield no fruit.

The flock be out from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord, God, the Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the deer's.

He makes me tread on my high places. Brief word of prayer. Heavenly Father, I ask for the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus upon every person watching over these moments, that their perception of what I say will be heard as you intend.

Cleanse my tongue that I will be your transparent instrument to say all that needs to be said, nothing that doesn't need to be said. I pray that this will be life-changing and a word that brings great honor and glory to your name.

I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, the message I bring to you today was born in a time in my life that was to change me forever. Many years ago, when I was 17 years old, a student at Ashland, Kentucky, I was called out of class.

I was told to go to the principal's office. That had never happened before. And they said, there's a phone call. And it was my uncle. And he said, RT, your mother has just had a stroke. And your father and I are coming to pick you up in moments.

I said, oh, is she going to be all right? He said, she's a very sick woman. I went to her bedside and she could not speak. She could not move. And over the next several weeks, we prayed and prayed. And one day my father came running up the stairs to wake me up to go to school.

He said, son, I've heard from God, your mother will be healed. And as it turns out, I thought God had given me a word that my mother would be healed. In those days, I was a member of the high school band in Ashland.

I played the oboe. And for some reason, our high school band was chosen to play at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D .C. This was in 1953. It was a great honor for our school. And I thought, I can't go.

My mother's ill. But my dad said, I think you should go. My mother wanted me to go. And so we had an overnight trip to Washington, D .C. When we arrived in Washington, I went to a phone to call my Aunt Freda, who lived in Washington.

I said, guess who this is? And she said, where are you? I said, it's RT. I'm in Washington. I said, I know. Where are you? I said, I'm at a train station across from a restaurant. She said, your uncle is coming to get you.

I said, well, what's going on? And she said, your mother just passed away this morning. You know, that was many years ago. I've never got over it. My father was afraid I would lose my faith. For some reason, I didn't.

And I'm here today to uphold the God of the Bible. Now, that story does not qualify me for speaking on this subject, totally forgiving God. What might qualify me, at least in some measure, is that over the years, I've been in the ministry 65 years.

I was minister, as Tim just told you, at Westminster Chapel, London, for 25 years. And I heard every question I think that can be asked. You might be interested to know the most popular question we got at Westminster Chapel in the church vestry after the service.

It was not, what happens to the heathen that never hear the gospel? It was not, why does God allow evil? Do you want to know the most popular question? Someone would come in and say, why can't I get married?

One man, I'll never forget it. He said, pray that I'll find a wife. And I did. And the next person to come in was a lady who said, please pray that I will find a husband. I said, wait right here, I'll go get some.

No, I didn't go do that. But it was a common thing. The most difficult case that I had in 25 years was a German lady, around 40 years old, who had muscular dystrophy. She had a thick accent, could not speak plainly.

She limped and she was not pretty. And every week she would come in and she would say to me, why can't I find a husband? And I would pray, Lord, help me to know what to say to this lady. And I would have to say to her, I don't know.

And she would limp her way out. A year after we retired from Westminster Chapel, I got a word that she went back to Germany and took her own life. And I look back on those days, is there anything I could have said?

There are things that we just don't understand. Now, I deal with a very difficult subject. I've been criticized for this title. Well, I understand that because when I deal with the subject, totally forgiving God, it sounds like God is guilty of something and we forgive Him.

Nothing can be further from the truth. He is perfect. He's just. But because He is all-powerful and He could stop evil any moment and He lets bad things happen, there's a sense in which we must set Him free and forgive Him and not criticize Him for this.

Theodicy, Existentialism, and God’s Purposes

Well, there are two worldviews when it comes to the nature of faith. Why would God let people suffer? The two worldviews, on one hand, you have what is called theodicy. That's the governing ways of God that there is purpose in creation and all that happens.

At the other extreme, it's called existentialism, where people are just thrown into their existence. We don't know why we are here. We don't know why things happen. We never will. Don't try to figure it out.

And I'm sorry to say that as we are in now, COVID -19, greatest crisis, as far as I know, in the history of the world. And people, some say there is no purpose. You'll never know why. I'm afraid even Christian leaders have said, we don't have an answer.

We're not supposed to. I remember Moses saw the burning bush and there was a bush that just burned and it didn't actually burn up. And he said, I wonder what's going on. See, he runs up to the burning bush and then God says, stop, stop.

Don't come any closer. Take off your shoes. You are on holy ground. You see, there are some things that God doesn't want us to figure out. Moses wanted to figure out how a bush could be on fire and not burn up.

For example, the difference between what God causes and what He permits is holy ground. Don't try to figure everything out. But I can tell you, there is purpose in everything that is going on. And so when we learn to set God free, there's a breakthrough.

Breaking the Betrayal Barrier

I call it breaking the betrayal barrier. In the 20th century, it was a great feat when aeronautical science broke the sound barrier. When an airplane could fly faster than the speed of sound, it was a great breakthrough.

There's another kind of breakthrough and it is more extraordinary. And that is when you break the betrayal barrier. When you feel that God has turned against you, hit His face, you feel all alone. And you think, what is going on?

Why? It is if there is no God. Martin Luther used to say, we must know God as an enemy before we can know Him as a friend. And there are many people when the sense of betrayal comes, so many I'm afraid, they just shake their fist at God and say, I'm out of here, I don't want any more of this.

But then there are those who just wait. And wait and they find out that they can break through the betrayal barrier. And they will find God so real. And that is why I'm speaking today. I believe there's someone, you believe God has let you down.

What has happened doesn't make sense. I do not know to this day why God took my mother. I was only 17, she was only 43. Moses couldn't figure out how a bush could be on fire and not burn up. There's some things when God says, leave it with me.

And one can break through the betrayal barrier. And I can tell you it is a breakthrough. Some do, some don't. But there will be some of you who do. And you will be so thankful that you do. Now as there are polar opposites when it comes to worldview, theodicy, existentialism, there are two kinds of faith.

Faith Beyond Sight

There's what you could call the secular atheist view of faith. And they would say, I will believe it when I see it. And to them, that's faith. When you see it, you say, now I believe. But I must tell you something, that's not faith.

It's not faith if you see it and then believe. That's not faith. Faith, according to the Bible, Hebrews 11, verse 1, Well, the secular atheist says, that's nonsense. That's stupid. That's dumb. And so for those of us who believe without seeing, we are looked at as fools, stupid, crazy.

But that's part of the stigma. And we bear that for the honor and glory of God. Because one day, God will clear His name. He will do it in such a way that those who would not do it now will be so ashamed and so embarrassed.

And I would urge you to stick with Scripture. God's Word, it is true, trustworthy. And the day will come. The breakthrough will come. And you'll find out how real God is. And you'll be so thankful that you didn't give in.

Well, those who believe and yet they don't see. You see, the idea, I will believe it when I see it. Do you realize at the cross of Jesus, the Roman soldiers, the chief priests, they mocked. And they said, hey, son of God, come down from the cross.

And their word was, so we can see and believe. You see, that's what the secular atheist wants, to see and believe. But you see, faith, as I said, is when you don't see. Oh, by the way, there will be a day when the secular atheist will get his or her wish.

Revelation chapter 1, verse 7. Behold, he comes with clouds. Every eye shall see him. They also who pierced him. And listen to this. All the kindreds of the earth shall wail, W-A-I-L, wail, because of him.

Have you ever heard the sound of a wail? You might hear people cry. They sniffle, they cry, and out loud, but a wail. That's rare. I've only heard it once in my life. I'll never forget it. It's when there is no hope.

It's over. The pathos. And the day will come, every eye shall see him, and then sophisticated people won't worry about what people think. They will cry and wail, because it's over. God will one day clear his name.

Habakkuk’s Four Complaints

In the meantime, Habakkuk. A prophet like all of us, he wondered, why does God allow evil? And so God invites us to be like Habakkuk. We all have our questions. Habakkuk himself had four complaints. You might know what they are.

First, Habakkuk complained, he says, God does not seem to listen. He doesn't answer my prayer. Complaint number two. God is looking the other way during violence, and he seems to side with the enemy. Habakkuk thought that.

Prophet of God. And then Habakkuk said, I'm having to endure injustice. This is not right. This is not fair. Why doesn't God step in? And then complaint number four. God tolerates evil. Habakkuk said, I thought he was a God who could not look at sin, and yet he's tolerating evil.

I wonder if someone watching right now, you have a complaint against God. God is not answering your prayer. A God turns against you when you need him most. You devote your life to God. You decide you're going to serve God, and you expect now he's going to bless you.

And lo and behold, right after that, he turns his back against you. And you think, well, thanks a lot. I give my life to God, and suddenly he's against me. Or you feel betrayed. Do you realize in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, that's the chapter that describes the great people that lived in the Old Testament days who had faith.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Enoch, David, Samuel. Every one of them broke the betrayal barrier. Every one of them had the experience at one time feeling that God was against them. And if you would like for your own faith to be built up, read the 11th chapter of Hebrews.

They were people that went through it. They're just like you and me, ordinary people. But they decided to wait. Let's just see what happens. Hastily, many people just say, I'm finished. Just for one moment or a day or two, when God hides his face, they just give it all up.

No, I would urge you, don't give up. Let me tell you how to break the betrayal barrier. First, know that it is God's plan for you that you do what few people do, and that is to break the betrayal barrier.

Pleasing God Through Faith

If I may quote Martin Luther again, you must know God as an enemy before you can know him as a friend. So he appears to be your enemy. It's a way of testing you to see what you will do in a time of crisis.

Let me put it this way. Which gives you more pleasure? When God is pleasing you or when you are pleasing him? Well, I think the obvious answer, we get our greatest pleasure when he's pleasing us. He answers prayer, things start to happen.

Yes, but let me put a challenge to you. Learn to get your satisfaction not when he's pleasing you, but when you realize you're in a moment you can actually please him. Do you know the thought that I could actually please him?

That's amazing. Do you know what? Enoch, one of those described in Hebrews chapter 11, had this testimony before he was taken to heaven that he pleased God. I can't think of anything I'd rather have said of me that I pleased God.

And Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 says it is impossible to please God without faith. In other words, with faith you please him. Without faith it's impossible to please him. And I wonder if there's someone watching right now, I would urge you to accept this challenge.

Get your joy, get your satisfaction out of knowing you please him because the day will come. He knows how much we can bear. He's never too early. He's never too late. He's always just on time. And you will break through the betrayal barrier when God will be so real and you'll be so thankful that you didn't give up.

Choosing Faithfulness in the Trial

And so how do you break the betrayal barrier? First, know that's what God wants you to do. Second, know that this moment what you're going through, we can refer to COVID -19, we're all in it. This may be the greatest moment you will ever have to show you please God.

It may never come around again like this. And when it's over, it's over. And you think I messed up the whole time. Now's the time to say, Lord, I'm not giving up. I'm trusting you. Or as Job put it, though he slay me, yet will I trust him.

And the thing is about Habakkuk, we don't know what it was. Bible doesn't say, but something happened to him. In fact, when I read this, I can hardly read it without coming to tears. Remind you that this was an agrarian society.

They live for rain. They live for sun. They went day by day. And even though Habakkuk said, I don't want to wait till the end to find out why God allows evil. But God says, if you will wait and not give up, you will be declared righteous by believing my word.

And Habakkuk said, that's what I'm going to do. And his testimony, even though things had not changed, he said, though the fig tree does not blossom, nor the fruit be on the vines, and the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, and the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, I will rejoice in the Lord.

I will take joy in the God of my salvation. And that's my challenge to you today. This is your moment to be like those in the Bible that instead of shaking their fist at God, just said, I'm going to wait and see.

I'm going to see what happens when I continue to trust him. And so you may feel betrayed, but know this, during this time, if I could give you this little tip, don't complain. Now, we all are naturally going to complain when things aren't right.

I've been the world's worst, but one day I was taught a lesson and I've never looked back. When I had my wrist slapped, the Holy Spirit put me in my place and I learned not to complain, but rather be a thankful person.

Gratitude Instead of Self-Pity

You see, gratitude is a sign you're not going to complain because there are things you are thankful for. I would urge you, look around, look at the positive. There are things you are thankful for. Many years ago, when I was preaching through the book of Philippians and we came to chapter four, verse six, where the apostle Paul put it like this in Philippians chapter four, verse six, he said, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Do you know what? Something happened to me as I preached that sermon. It's never happened before, it hasn't happened since. It's a wonderful moment, but it was awful at the time. As I was preaching this sermon, and I came across that verse, you put your prayer and petition with thanksgiving.

I was suddenly so convicted over my own ingratitude. This is what happened. While I'm preaching, as I say, it's never happened before or since. My whole life came before me. I could see one incident after another where I did not say thank you to God, and I felt so ashamed, and I thought, Lord, this is awful, help me to get through this sermon quick, because I'm going to go to my vestry, I'm going to fall on my knees, and I'm going to repent, and I can tell you I could hardly wait to finish that sermon.

I went to my desk, I knelt, I locked the door so nobody could come in. I made a vow that day to be a thankful man. That was 25 years ago. I've kept that vow, and I'll tell you how I do it. I happen to keep a journal.

Some do, some don't. I keep one. I can tell you where I was April the 10th, 1986, at 2 o 'clock in the afternoon. It's just something I do. I went through my journal this morning and thanked God for everything that happened yesterday.

There were three or four or five things. It takes about 15 seconds to do that, and I've sought to be thankful ever since. I would urge you, I would urge you, before the day is over, before you go to sleep tonight, think of three things of that day that you're thankful for.

You'll think of more than three, because God loves gratitude. He hates ingratitude, and I can tell you, if you learn to be a thankful person, and this is a way you break the betrayal barrier. Know it's God's will.

Know that you're in a trial. There may never be one like it, and when it's over, you'll think, oh, I could have been more thankful. Start now. Just thanking for the things, and walk in all the light God gives you.

Pray more than ever. Read your Bible more than ever, and the day will come that God will make himself so real. He will be so real to you, and you will be so thankful that you didn't complain. Well now, here is the deal that God made with Habakkuk.

Waiting for God’s Appointed Time

He said, here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to this place, and there I'm gonna reveal why I allow evil. It's in chapter two. He said, I want you to station yourself on a tower, and I'm gonna tell you then why I allow evil.

Well, Habakkuk said, yes, I will. I'll be there, and then God showed up, and then Habakkuk was a little disappointed. God said to him, I will do it, and I want you to write down the vision, make it plain that he may run with it, but I will say that the vision, the revelation, awaits an appointed time.

It speaks of the end. What does he mean by end? He means the end, last day. When Jesus comes, then I will clear my name. Then I will show why I have allowed things to happen, and then you will see it all.

Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now, Habakkuk could have said, God, that's not good enough. I want to know now. Well, God says, I'm going to reveal the reason I have allowed evil.

In the meantime, you can trust me. Well, some people will say, that's not good enough, and so I talked to people about the Lord when we were at Westminster Chapel. We had our, what we called pilot-like ministry.

We gave out pamphlets in the streets in Victoria between Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, and thousands would come by, and I would give them out pamphlets and talk to them about Jesus. And whenever I would talk about God will clear his name, they all want to know, I want the answer now.

Why does God allow evil? I'm sorry, he's not going to answer you now. And it's a matter of setting God free and saying, Lord, it's okay if you don't reveal now, those who demand an answer, they shake their fist at God and never look back.

Justification by Faith and God’s Faithfulness

But something happened to Habakkuk. He said, I'm going to wait, I'm going to wait. And then God gave a promise to Habakkuk, and it's a promise quoted three times in the New Testament. It comes out in the New Testament, the just shall live by faith.

That's the way it's quoted. The Hebrew in Habakkuk chapter two verse four says, the just will live by God's faithfulness. In other words, you trust him to keep his word. And do you know what? To those who trust the Lord, God counts them as righteous.

You may know there was another occasion, Abraham, he had no children. He's an old man. His wife Sarah was barren. And one day Abraham was discouraged and he said, Lord, you've given me all this wealth.

Am I to leave it with my servant Eliezer? You can read it in Genesis chapter 15. And then God said to Abraham, go outside your tent and look up, count the stars. Abraham was okay. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Oh, it's too many to start over. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Well, I can't count them. There's hundreds. Well, we now know there are billions. And do you know what? God said to Abraham, so will your seed be.

That means Abraham is going to be the father of a boy. And Abraham, if he's like so many of us, would have said, God, you don't expect me to believe that. I'm an old, old man. Sarah's old. Do you expect me to believe that?

Well, guess what? Abraham believed it. And God counted him as righteous by his faith. And that became the Apostle Paul's Exhibit A in Romans chapter 4, for the teaching of justification by faith alone.

Those who believe the promise are counted just. And God did the same thing with Habakkuk. If you will wait and not demand the answer now, but trust the day will come, I will clear my name. And Habakkuk said, I'll accept it.

I will accept it. And something happened to him. His life was changed. He could say, I don't understand it. I don't know why God allows evil, but I trust him. And though the fig tree does not blossom, nor there be fruit on the vines, I will rejoice.

I will trust him. And he was counted righteous. And it's a way for you today to be counted righteous in God's sight. It's not by your good works. It's not by your turning over a new leaf. No, it's when you make the commitment to believe God's word.

Caution, it can be lonely. Don't expect everybody to clap their hands and applaud you and say, oh, you've done a great thing. No, it will not be easy. But it's worth it all. For those who break the betrayal barrier.

Five Practices for Trusting God

You see, Habakkuk wanted to know why God allows suffering. And his answer was, I'm going to tell you at the appointed time. And you see, those who wait are those who are going to be blessed. Let me give you five suggestions how to forgive God totally in a time like this and set him free.

First, be utterly honest with him and tell him your complaint. Habakkuk did. Psalm 142, verse 2. The psalmist said, I will pour out my complaint to the Lord. He doesn't mind that. God is not insecure.

He doesn't mind you saying, Lord, why are you doing this? He doesn't mind. Pour out your complaint to God. And then second, make a list of things you are thankful for. As I said, God loves gratitude. You can always find things that you're thankful for.

Third, fight self-pity with all your heart. I'm preaching to myself. I've been the world's worst, but I've learned one thing. It's not pleasant, but I have to tell you something. My self-pity never, ever gets me anywhere.

It won't get you anywhere. Don't go that route. No self-pity. Fourth, choose to believe that God has a purpose in what he's doing. And I can tell you what is happening in New York City, what is happening all over the world.

There is a purpose in it. God is up to something. And I would urge you, be patient and willing to wait for things to happen. Because God knows how much we can bear. Along the way, he will give you tokens of blessing, of assurance.

And it is so wonderful. And so, Hobacket made the decision to trust God. And not try to figure out everything. As God said to Moses, you can't know everything. Just take off your shoes and worship. And so, there are certain things God doesn't want us to figure out.

But wait. And he will let us know what he is up to. But then I need to ask you one other thing. What if, and this is not going to be that easy. I don't say this will be easy. But let me talk to somebody as though there were no one else listening.

Trusting God When Prayers Remain Unanswered

Just for you, I think this is for you. What if you do accept that your prayer won't be answered? Can you say, though the fig tree doesn't blossom, though there are no fruit on the vines, I will trust God.

What if you accept, though you prayed for it, what if you accept that you won't get healed? What if? What if you won't get married? What if you won't get the reconciliation that you wanted? What if, and this, I speak to myself, what if you don't get the revival you wanted?

Do you know when I was at Westminster Chapel, I was sure that revival would come. I was sure. I stayed there 25 years waiting up to the last day, but revival didn't come. But I said, God, it's okay. You've got a better idea.

You see, here's what we learn about faith. We don't know why God allows evil, but here is a hint. It's in John 11, 15. When Jesus' close friend Lazarus was very ill, and Mary and Martha sent a word to Jesus and said, Lazarus, your friend is sick.

He's ill. Well, they just knew. They just knew that Jesus would stop what he was doing and go straight to Bethany, heal Lazarus, keep him from dying. Do you know what? Jesus showed up four days after the funeral, and Mary said, Lord, if you had been here, our brother wouldn't have died.

She's blaming Jesus for letting Lazarus die. Martha said the same thing. Lord, if you had been here, our brother wouldn't have died. And do you know what Jesus said to his disciples when he heard the word?

He said, I'm glad. For your sakes that Lazarus died, he said, in order that you might believe. What did he mean by that? You see, if everything happened just the way you want it, every time you pray, your prayer is answered, you won't need faith.

You just will turn on a switch and get what you want. What makes faith faith is when you don't get what you want, but you believe anyway. And this is what Jesus is saying. John 11, 15, read it. It's for your sakes that you might believe.

And could it be that God has withheld what you wanted because it's more important that you have the consciousness that you please God. Without faith, it's impossible to please him. Well, what if it turns out for you that are praying for a baby to come into your home, what if you won't have children?

What if the people won't forgive you that you've wanted to have a reconciliation with and they will always hold a grudge? What if that happens? What if that faulty verdict by the judge, that uncaring judge, it will never be reversed?

What then can you say, though the fig tree doesn't blossom, there are no fruit on the vines, I will still rejoice. What if that enigmatic situation that has always bedeviled you will always be a puzzle?

What if you go to your grave unvindicated and everybody believes the lie? What if, I hope not, but what if war is coming? What if terrorism will spread and terrorism won't be stopped? What if? What will your faith do then?

Can you still say, I'm trusting God? What if there will be no clarification of those verses in the Bible that you don't understand? What if you don't understand them? What if that prophetic word given to you will not be fulfilled?

What if that disability that you live with won't go away? What if that nightmarish marriage will never get better? What if you don't get the job you wanted? What if you don't get to live in the house of your dreams?

What if this is your opportunity to say, God, you mean more to me. Will you be able to say, though the fig tree doesn't blossom, I'm still there with you. I will follow you, Lord. If you can say that, congratulations.

You've just entered the big leagues. You are now with those who have proved they would serve God. There are not many. It could be a lonely world. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, few there be that find it.

But I can tell you what will happen. The anointing of the Holy Spirit upon you will make up the difference. It's worth it all. And best of all, at the judgment seat of Christ, you will hear from the words of Jesus, well done.

The Gospel Invitation

I'd rather have that than anything in the world. But before I finish, I have to ask this question. Somebody watching you need this. Do you know for sure if you were to die today, would you go to heaven?

Do you? And if you were to stand before God, you will. And he were to ask you, he might, why should I let you into my heaven? There's one answer. Give the wrong answer, you have to go someplace else. Don't go there.

But if you can say, because Jesus died for me on the cross, you're there. But if you're thinking it's your good works, your efforts trying to do this or that will get you there, wrong. Pray this prayer right now, wherever you are.

Lord Jesus, I need you. I want you. I know I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sins. Wash my sins away by your blood. I welcome your Holy Spirit into my heart. And as best as I know how, I give you my life.

That's it. If you prayed that prayer, share it with someone else. And if you've never prayed it before, do you know what? You've just been born again. Happy birthday. God bless you. At this time, I'm going to take a moment.