Trust God

MPT: Habakkuk doubted God’s justice, But God was at work in ways beyond his understanding.

2 ways to respond when you doubt that God is working.

INTRODUCTION

Let’s continue worshipping the Lord this morning. If you have your Bibles, I ask that you start making your way to the book of Habakkuk. We are going to look at Habakkuk chapter 1 verses 1-11. That’s right, we are starting a new series today, and we are going to walk through the book of Habakkuk together. If you are new to the Bible, you’ve probably never heard of Habakkuk, and if you are familiar with the Bible you’ve heard of Habakkuk but have no idea where it is in your Bible, that’s okay. Habakkuk isn’t that hard to find, if you flip to Matthew in the new Testament, and start working backward you’ll run into Malachi, Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah then Habakkuk. If you didn’t bring a Bible that’s okay, there is a copy in the pew in front of you, and if you don’t own a Bible, please, keep that Bible, take it home, read it, and learn about the God who loves you and desires a relationship with you, and if you know someone who needs a Bible, please, take a copy to give them. Habakkuk 1:1-11.

If you are anything like me, you appreciate good timing. We as people love it when things are timed perfectly. If you have ever listened to a comedian or watched a comedy, you notice that what makes them a good comedian or a good comedy is not necessarily the joke, but the timing of the punch line. That is something that I am just not good at. Admittedly I tried to write some jokes to try stand up comedy, but I could never get the timing or delivery down to actually make it funny. Photography is also an area where you need good timing. I want to show you a couple of cool ones. So this one is cool because the lighting looks like it’s right on top of the torch, this one looks like the sky diver is landing on the moon, now this one is my favorite, this guy is absolutely getting blasted here. So these photos have perfect timing. Now my wife Ariana, she is a pro a perfect timing. When we were dating we rode together to go visit her family and on the drive back to college she made a guess as to what time we would make it back. I mean, she got really close, she was only one minute off, but it was impressive because it’s a three hour drive from Liberty where we went to school and her parents house. But where she thrives with perfect timing is her gift of scaring people. Ever since we were married, notice how I said married and not dating because I’m not sure if we would have lasted, but ever since we were married, she would hide in places and jump out and scare me. Like comedy when it comes to scaring people, you have to have the perfect timing. Over the years I’ve gotten wise to her jumping out and scaring me so when I go to turn a corner I do it very quietly and look for her so she can’t scare me. Basically I live my life like I’m on the run, constantly looking over my shoulder. The problem, is when I foil her plan at scaring me, I let my guard down, and a couple of minutes later she finds somewhere quick to jump out and scare me. I don’t like it because I have a rare condition when I get scared and my voice jumps up several octaves, then my allergies act up and my eyes tear up so it looks like I’m crying. Now that the girls are older, she’s been jumping out and scaring them too. I love it because now when they get home from school, we are all sneaking around the house with our hearts racing. Now as much as we appreciate good timing, let me ask you, do you appreciate God’s perfect timing as well? Do you find yourself getting impatient with God? Do you accuse Him of not caring because it seems like He’s taking His sweet time? I get it, because when we are waiting on God it’s usually because of a pressing or urgent issue, so it seems like we are waiting for an eternity for God to respond. Well, you aren’t alone, the prophet Habakkuk felt the same way. He was living in a difficult time in Israel’s history and cried out to God, and even though it seemed like God wasn’t doing anything about it, He assured Habakkuk that He is. Habakkuk doubted God’s justice, But God was at work in ways beyond his understanding. In today’s passage we are going to see two ways to respond when you doubt that God is working. So if you’ve made your way to Habakkuk, I ask if you are able rise to your feet as we read out of God’s Word.

CONTEXT

If you are new here this morning you are in luck because today we are starting a brand new series. Here at Northwood Wando, we practice what’s called expository preaching, that’s where we take books of the Bible go through them one at a time. We just finished going through the book of 1 John and over the next several weeks we will be working through the book of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk is a short book, and is one of the minor prophets. It’s not called a minor prophet because it’s unimportant, but because it’s short at only three chapters.

We don’t know much about the prophet Habakkuk other than he was a prophet. He isn’t mentioned by name anywhere else in Scripture. Now, what is a prophet? In short, a prophet represents God to the people. They spoke on behalf of God to call Israel back into covenant faithfulness. This book is unlike other prophet books. Most of the prophet books, we see a prophet getting a vision or message from God, then relaying that message to the people. In this case, Habakkuk isn’t necessarily receiving a message from God to give to the people, rather, Habakkuk is lamenting to God, and God is responding to Habakkuk’s cry.

This book was written around 605 BC in Judah, sometime after King Josiah died. At this point in history, the two kingdoms were split.

Now real quick, you’ll remember in 1 Kings 12, around 931 BC, the king of Israel at that time was was Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. The Israelites told Rehoboam that if he took it easier on them then Solomon did, they would serve him better. He sought council from his elders on how to handle the situation, and he got 2 answers. Act kindly toward them, or act harshly. He decided to at harshly and it backfired so a man named Jeroboam and 10 tribes of Israel became the northern kingdom called Israel, and Rehoboam and the other 2 tribes became the southern kingdom called Judah.

So the setting we see here in Habakkuk, is he is writing from Judah. The overall purpose for this book, is to show that even though at times this world seems dark and doomed, we should trust God to come through on His promises. So the first way to respond when you doubt God is working is to

TRUST GOD WITH YOUR TRIALS

(V1): This is all the information we get on who Habakkuk is. He isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the Old Testament, but he’s quoted a few times in the New Testament. There are many words used here throughout different translations. The CSB here uses pronouncement, the NIV uses prophecy, the ESV & NASB use oracle, and the NKJV and KJV use the word burden. Any of these words is a fine translation because they do express some sort of weight and authority, but this book is different because we aren’t seeing a prophecy or oracle in the traditional sense, we are seeing a conversation, and dialogue between the prophet Habakkuk and God.

(V2): It seems Habakkuk has been crying out to God for quite some time. We don’t know how long Habakkuk has been calling for help, but it’s clear it’s gotten to the point where Habakkuk is making this desperate prayer. Life can feel unfair, injustice is real. Habakkuk cries out because violence, and injustice are running rampant. Have you ever gotten to this point like Habakkuk? Have you gone to God in desperation like this? Habakkuk saying “how long” reminds us of, Psalm 13:1, but, it also reminded me of Ex 16:28. Remember, God provided manna and quail to the wondering Israelites, and gave instructions on when to collect, yet, they disobeyed and collected manna when they were told not to. Habakkuk crying “how long” can also reflect God asking “how long” will the Israelites continue to neglect God’s law? This makes sense because Habakkuk is crying out about injustice, and how God’s laws don’t work, but clearly, Israel didn’t always hold God’s laws highly. They weren’t obeying God. Do you obey God? We also see Habakkuk accusing God of not listening. Again, this is something we relate to, especially now that we live under the new covenant. God doesn’t audibly speak to people anymore. Often times our answers to prayers come in what He has already revealed to us in Scripture, and that’s hard for us to understand sometimes. God is aware of your struggles, and sees what you are going through. When trials feel overwhelming or confusing, trust in God’s sovereignty and wisdom. But, we often cry out to God and expect our prayers to not just be answered, but to be answered clearly and in the way we require. Our prayers tend to sound a lot like demands, don’t they? So trusting God with your trials, means don’t give God the answer.

How many times have you prayed to God and you gave Him the solution? God, just give me that job, God, just make my kids listen, God, just let me do well on my test, God, just give us the money we need, God, just cure my loved one. How can you trust God with your trials if you give Him the answer? Habakkuk isn’t crying out and telling God how to fix the issue, Habakkuk is crying out to God in faith because he knows God can do something about it, he’s just being impatient, but he isn’t holding back his emotions, so when you trust God with your trials, don’t give Him the answer, also don’t hide your emotions, but don’t be driven by them.

Habakkuk isn’t crying out because of violence against himself, he’s crying out for the violence that Judah, his people, God’s chosen people are committing. How are they to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant, the covenant where God says through Abraham, through the Israelites, that there will be a great nation, how will they fulfill that covenant if they continue down this path? Habakkuk is emotional because God’s people are being wicked, and God doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. Habakkuk is hurting because Judah has turned their back on God. So cry out to God, use emotion, but don’t let your emotions be the reason you cry out to God.

(V3): Habakkuk is referring to injustice he sees from Judah. Habakkuk has witnessed injustice all around him and has asked God why. To Habakkuk, God seemed indifferent and idle to the injustice that’s taking place. This should sound familiar to us. How much violence and injustice do we see? How many more babies will get aborted, schools shot up, Christians massacred, and just downright debauchery will we have to witness before justice takes place? Habakkuk is crying out the same way we do.

(V4): That’s a bold statement from Habakkuk, saying God’s law is ineffective. Have you ever accused God of not doing His job? Habakkuk is saying that God’s law is powerless to combat the wickedness that is going on. But Habakkuk knows and understands that God is able to stop it. So, when you trust God with your trials, Look at how God is shaping your faith.

When you bring your struggles to God, are you whining and complaining (I’m certainly guilty of that)? Or are you appealing to God out of faith? See, Habakkuk isn’t saying hateful things to God. He isn’t blaming God for what is happening. I think we need to be clear about that. Yes, Habakkuk is claiming that God isn’t doing anything and is just letting Judah get by with their wickedness, but he isn’t blaming God for their wickedness. He’s asking God for help. Look back at how you react to God when life is unfair. Do you blame God for things not going your way? Or do you ask God to step in and help you? Habakkuk also isn’t letting this effect his faith in God. How many people turn from the faith because of the evil they see in this world? How many of you are having a crisis of faith because of the evil you have witnessed? Don’t let current situations make you lose faith. Look back at how God has been faithful to you, and when you’ve seen His providence prevail for you. Habakkuk cries out to God for not saving, but Habakkuk completely understands that God is capable of saving Judah from continued injustice. He’s not calling out to God saying they are all doomed, He’s calling out for help from the only one who can help. Habakkuk understands that God will bless Judah if they honor God by living obediently to His Word. So Habakkuk want’s Judah to obey God’s Word. And you should want the same. You should want injustice to stop, not out of our desires, but because people are repenting and obeying God. You should desire revival, not revenge.

TRUST GOD WITH HIS TIMING

(V5-11): God is doing what? He is raising up the Chaldeans, this pagan enemy? This nation that conquers other people? Why would He do that? God says that Habakkuk won’t believe when he hears about it. God is going to use the Chaldeans to punish Judah for their perversion of justice. I’m sure this is not the response Habakkuk was looking for. God would bring more injustice and more violence into Habakkuk’s life to deal with the injustices of Judah. The Chaldeans, or Babylonians will be a tool for God’s judgement. Can you imagine being Habakkuk? What kind of answer is this? Where is the comfort? Where is the hope?

We see in verse 11 that God calls Babylon guilty. Look, we know something that Habakkuk didn’t, the rest of the story. We know that Babylon takes Judah captive, and they will be in Exile for 70 years. That’s where we see Daniel and Ezekiel. Then after that, Babylon fell to the Persians, and the Jews are set free to return home to Jerusalem, and that’s where we see Ezra and Nehemiah, but many Jews were dispersed throughout the world.

The Jews that were dispersed began building synagogues so that they can have a place to worship. In Acts 13, the Apostle Paul during his first missionary journey goes to a synagogue to preach the Gospel. Paul’s missionary strategy was to go to these synagogues that popped up during and right after the Babylonian exile. Paul also in Acts 13, quotes Habakkuk 1:5, and points this to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. So, when you trust God with His timing, you need to understand God works unexpectedly.

Think about it. God sent us a savior in the form of a baby. That baby would grow up and sacrifice Himself on the cross for our sins. Jesus’ life and ministry was certainly not expected. The Jews had been waiting for the Messiah, and when He came, they rejected Him. They were expecting a great warrior to arrive and destroy everyone except the Jews, not a peaceful man who sacrificed Himself. Jesus may not be the Messiah that was expected, but He is the perfect Messiah. He lived the full human experience from conception to death, and lived that life perfectly, the way God designed it to be lived. And because we are all sinners, and deserve an eternity experiencing God’s wrath, Jesus, bore all of our sins and died the death we deserve on the cross, he rose again three days later and those who put their faith in Him, will not spend eternity experiencing God’s wrath, but will spend eternity experiencing God’s love.

Another way to trust God with His timing, is to avoid taking matters into your own hands.

Now for Habakkuk, God told him to look around at the nations. Habakkuk was focused on what was happening right in front of him, but God wanted to draw his attention to Babylon. As we see here in verses 7-11 the Babylonians clearly had an ego. They saw themselves as the standard for justice and sovereignty, they were strong and unbeatable, determined to commit violence, and they were good at it. They mocked kings and rulers because of how easily they could be beaten. After they conquered they were quickly gone. They were truly no match for anyone. But as powerful as they were, they were guilty in God’s eyes because they only trusted in themselves and not God. Ultimately, Babylon would fall, but not before God used this evil nation for His purpose.

When we take matters into our own hands, we are proving that we don’t trust God. When we take matters into our own hands, we are saying that we know better than God does. We have to stop being so prideful in thinking that we can do it better than God. If Scripture teaches us anything, it’s that we can’t be trusted to do anything. Adam and Eve took matters into their own hands and introduced sin into the world. Moses and the Israelites took matters into their own hands and were banned from entering into the promised land. The book of Judges is all about wicked leaders putting matters into their own hands, and then Israel demanded a King because they didn’t value God as the true king, and look where they ended up. Right here to where Habakkuk is crying and pleading with God, and God answers Habakkuk’s prayer with exile.

The point is, we cannot possibly provide for ourselves, or fix our problems like God can. And as we’ve seen in Scripture, when God gives people what they want, or let’s them take charge, it often doesn’t work out.

So live at peace, knowing God has already won.

The violence and injustice we have seen over the last several weeks has been tragic. We see violence and injustice all around us here in the United States. But we aren’t the only ones who deal with injustice and violence. Back in February, 70 Christians were rounded up and massacred in the Congo by Islamic radicals, and on July 29th, 49 more. Every year at the Southern Baptist Convention, we celebrate a send off the new international missionaries that the international mission board is sending out. This year at the convention, we celebrated 58 new international missionaries. Each missionary tell us where they were going and a little bit about themselves. I didn’t get a count, but it seemed like half of them couldn’t show their faces because they are being sent to hostile territories, and it seemed like half of those, they are going to areas so dangerous that we couldn’t even hear their voices or know their real names. These missionaries have accepted their call to ministry, and understand that they might die for the sake of the Gospel. Here’s what I know, for those of us in Christ, we have our victory. The trials we are facing today, are no match for the glory we will have in Heaven. Romans 8:18 There is a Shane and Shane song called “You’ve already won”, and the lyrics are “I’m fighting a battle, you’ve already won, no matter what comes my way, I will overcome, don’t know what you’re doing, but I know what you’ve done. I’m fighting a battle, you’ve already won”. Y’all, this is true. Christ has already won for us. He has given us the gift of salvation that we don’t deserve. Our earthly life will be hard, but we are promised a much better life when Christ returns. So for now, when life is unfair, trust God with your trials, and trust God with His timing. Let’s pray.

The praise and worship team are going to make their way back up and we are going to have a time of invitation. If you are a believer in this room, I hope this passage encourages you to trust God even more than before. To trust that He is at work in your life for His glory and your good. If you are in this room and you aren’t a believer then life may seem like there is no hope, that no one is looking out for you so you have to look out for yourself. I’m here to tell you that there is hope, you have a father who wants a relationship with you He and sent His Son to die for you to bring you salvation. Repent, and turn to Jesus. Like I said, we are going to have a time of invitation, I’ll be down front however you need to respond today.