Watch Night Service

Though We

It is December 31st, the final day of the year. The final day of anything can bring about unique and sometimes overwhelming emotions. Sometimes those emotions are exciting, like when a young child moves from crawling to walking - okay, maybe that’s not a great final step…

There are things like the final test before break, the final day before the vacation, or the last movie in a trilogy that answers all the questions.

But there are certainly other, more challenging emotions that come with final things. Being at the end of something allows us to reflect on what was and make decisions about what will or may be.

That is where we are on the calendar as it relates to 2022, but it is also where we are looking in tonight’s passage.

The book of Habakkuk isn’t very long, 3 chapters. It is filled with powerful imagery of God and it is filled with prayers. The book is a bit of a back and forth between God and Habakkuk.

For instance, in chapter 1 Habakkuk calls out to God - Give us justice! Punish the evildoers! And we are going to see God’s answer to that prayer today, in chapter 3, verse 16.

Habakkuk, much like Job, sort of demands that God explain Himself, and God responds. God’s response is framed around “Do you know who I am, because I don’t really have to explain myself. And if I did, I’m not sure your finite mind would understand.”

So, today, fittingly, we are looking at the final part of Habakkuk’s final recorded prayer. The times in which he lived were awful. Jeremiah writes of the takeover of Jerusalem in Lamentations 2, and his description is of a terrible event. These are the events that Habakkuk foresaw.

This is all setup for us. But I want to use this text to help us reflect on the past year and prepare our hearts for the journey into 2023.

What we are going to do is a combination of teaching, listening, praying, and reflection.

Each of you has a “bulletin” that contains everything you need for this time of reflection.

In verse 17, Habakkuk paints a picture of the situation his people face. The economy of these people was almost exclusively agricultural. Inside that economy were two kinds of crops - permanent and annual.

Remember, this is Habakkuk’s prayer to God. In verse 17, Habakkuk says that the people have lost everything! We’ve lost our permanent crops, that is the figs, grapes, and olives. We’ve lost the annual crops also - the crops that were staples and their main source of energy - are gone! And, their sheep and cattle are dead.

Habakkuk is focusing on the entire Jewish community in his prayer - they are weary - and there doesn’t appear to be any hope.

For these people, there is no Salvation Army Lakewood Temple food shelf, no Union Gospel Mission, no relatives with a spare room, there is a tragic sense of starvation. The expectations of these people for any kind of success or hopefulness, had, in their eyes, but unfulfilled.

These extreme circumstances shouldn’t blind us to the relevancy of the struggles that we face as a body of believers.

In your hands is a piece of paper with three levels: I, we, beyond.

I want to invite you to take these next few minutes and reflect through the lens of your personal experience of 2022.

The first layer is though I’ve...

The second layer is though we’ve...

The third layer is though beyond...

We are going to listen to a song as you reflect on the past year. The lyrics will be on the screen as the song plays, so use them as you feel led.

When you are done with these reflections, keep them.

Have you felt that it seems like God’s gifts have been taken

Thou Art

Considering what Habakkuk has just prayed and shared about the status of the Israelites,

While earth often has a sad though, faith has a glorious thou.

Consider the famous words of Psalm 23:4 in the King James Version -

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

What power in Habakkuk’s response in verses 18-19.

He transitions from though to thou with the word YET.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

yet I will triumph in •Yahweh;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

He doesn’t lash out at God, he doesn’t pretend that there is another reality, he doesn’t even say that his efforts will be the difference maker.

His reaction is: thou art God and you have brought me here and I will exalt you!

There are three specific elements in Habakkuk’s conclusion that stand out:

Strength, feet, and walk.

Despite all the difficulties, Habakkuk says that the Lord is His strength. If we read these words quickly, we might miss just how Habakkuk understands HOW the Lord is his strength.

First, there is something very powerful about the feet of a deer. The word for deer is more like bighorn sheep - those crazy creatures that stand on the side of a mountain and cause us to say “how?” Well, because their feet are specifically designed to withstand the most brutal and difficult ground. It isn’t that there is power in the sheep, but there is power in the design of their feet. In the strength of the Lord, the journey forward for Habakkuk is hopeful because His feet are designed for the difficulties.

Second, there is the idea of walking to the mountain heights. Clearly, the connection between the feet of the deer and the mountain heights are connected. Mountain heights are challenging, dangerous, and often a place people don’t want to go. But, Habakkuk is confident that God has enabled him to do what he could never do on his own. This is why Habakkuk is rejoicing. He is saying, Yahweh, because thou art with me, I will not fear. Though there may be pain, challenges, temptations, and trials, when thou art with me, I will rejoice!

What are the high places over which God will take you in 2023? Are there places where you want to go, but need to say, “God, when thou are with me, I can go, we can go...”

In this closing song, use the time to consider the mountains you want to climb in 2023.

In each box, consider:

Because thou art God or

Because thou art with me,

I can...

We can...

Others can...