Waiting on the Lord
Habakkuk • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Please turn to the OT book of Habakkuk
if you need a handout, raise your hand.
before I preach, I want to take a moment and publicly thank Doug Schwartz, our head custodian who has been with us almost 8 years. he does not want to come forward or give a speech.
He is taking a new job at Fear Powersports, and will be with us on a very part-time basis on Mondays thru the end of the year, helping with maintenance projects, so we have been looking for a new person to fill his shoes. He and his wife Linda still plan to attend here, so you will see them around.
so would you take a moment right and express your appreciation to Doug.
In the book, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Tim and Kathy Keller accumulated several stories of first hand looks at suffering.
One of the accounts of suffering is by a woman named Georgianna. She is a trained infant and pediatric nurse practitioner. Has a husband Ted, and 3 kids. she says in 2011, their youngest daughter, Jane, had an accident. She tipped back in her seat, fell, hitting her head on the hardwood floor.
initially, she was assessed and everything was fine, showing no signs of injury.
a few days later, they did a skull xray just to make sure—and the xray surprisingly showed a skull facture. but a CT scan showed no other complications.
they praised God that it wasn’t worse, and God protected their little daughter
a week later, Child Protective Services show up at their house to investigate a report of severe abuse. the report came from a new doctor at the hospital who only viewed the xray and made the report.
because Jane was under 12 months old, the report was classified as a criminal case.
all 3 daughters were removed from custody.
there was no evidence of past or present abuse in any of their children. … every medical professional who examined Jane ruled out the possibility of abuse.
but despite that, their family was torn apart—and was not reunited until 9 months later. She and her husband were not allowed to live with their girls during that time; allowed only supervised visitation.
she says this: I will never forget the first night away from our daughters. I was raging, crying out to God, screaming in agony. Then something powerful happened. A calmness and warmth spread through me. I was suddenly aware that God was right there, holding me, raging with me at the injustice, weeping with us, His children. In that moment, I had never felt more protected in all my life. (page 126)
she says at the same time, she never felt more personally and professionally attacked on so many levels. in addition, they experienced enormous financial burdens for legal defense, consultations, and associated medical bills and counseling. she was not allowed to work during this time.
she says, “During the day, I frequently wrestled with God. .… I was so weary of waiting for the truth to prevail....God gave me the courage to handle it, and other times, I crumbled under the pressure.
she says, “Over time, I learned that God didn’t mind how strong or weak I was on any given day. He was the same. This was the true miracle—that my family lived and survived in the fiery furnace with God’s provision, not that God ultimately rescued us from it.”
they finally made it to juvenile court....while on the stand she says, “I often felt hurt, angry, annoyed, defeated, tricked, betrayed...and helpless...”
but on the 4th day of trial, the judge made a declaration that astonished us all. He dismissed the case as unfounded...without even hearing our defense....our attorney said, “this isn’t my victory, or your victory. This is God’s victory. Thank Him, not me.”
when it was over, there were still wounds and scars that needed tending—through counseling, being together, PTSD.
over time, they reached out to the hospital for a meeting to talk about their story in hopes of preventing future situations like this....and the hospital leaders apologized.
She even was able to hug the doctor who reported them.
...at the end of this incredible story, she says, “I believe our story does have a happy ending, but the truth is, our story is never-ending. And I praise God that He is still writing chapters of my life. My family and I are humbly grateful for the suffering our Father endured with us. Without it, we would be comfortably living our “old normal,” instead of courageously living our “new normal.” (page 129)
what do we do during desperate suffering...we started last week, and we continue.
this story I just read gives clues, and God’s Word especially gives clues...
let me read...
I want to review from last week:
1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
see what Habakkuk is wrestling with?
Injustice abounds...
wrongdoing abounds..
destruction and violence
people are not following God’s law—the wicked seem to be thriving
and worst of all—God how long are you going to tolerate this? why are you not doing something about it?
And we can relate to this prayer from this OT prophet:
How long...
Why?
in times of desperate suffering, we have a God who encourages us to cry out, to be honest, to come near to Him. He is not phased by our suffering. He draws near.
Amazingly, God answers...
look at the next 2 verses:
5 “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.
and then God goes on to describe several horrible descriptions of the Babylonian Empire.
God’s answer is to raise up the wicked Babylonians to come in, take God’s people captive, and rule over them.
we actually read about this in books like Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel.
that is NOT the answer we want.
what do we do when God gives us an answer we don’t want?
we are going to see the answer here in Habakkuk 1:12
Habakkuk responds to God’s crazy answer of raising up the Babylonians:
let’s stand:
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?
1 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
What do you do when you are desperate, crying out to God for an answer, and He finally gives you an answer, but it’s not the answer you want...what do you do?
I think the theme is found in Habakkuk 2:1
1 I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
the ramparts...the word there is a stronghold, or fortification, or tower...
Habakkuk says like a town watchman, or a military person who would keep watch on the tower, I am going to stand watch.
and so what do we do when going through desperate suffering, and especially getting answer we don’t want:
the short answer, and again, it’s not the answer we want is: we wait on the LORD.
waiting goes along with desperate suffering—because there is no easy answer to our problem and situation.
What does it mean to wait on the Lord—we have probably heard verses like this:
31 but those who hope (or wait) in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
That’s an incredible promise—How do we get to the point that we can wait on the LORD, so He does renew my strength.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
what does it mean...
Habakkuk gives us some clues here based on his example:
It involves the tension of being both patient and expectant. (2:1)
we wait both patiently...
and we wait expectantly at the same time
patience—means we are trusting God that He is going to do something about it—we are putting it in God’s hands.
expectant means—we are eagerly look to Him to do something about it. leaning forward in anticipation.
—2 temptations that this tension guards against:
patience challenges our temptation to be frantic...to solve everything; to put it all on me. some of us are trained problem solvers. Our personality may be naturally like this, and our job involves solving problems all the time, so when it comes to a difficult time of suffering...we put on our fixer and solver hats, trying to apply the same principles, this can lead to deep frustration and anger (2 signs of franticness—we want control!) but like the opening story shows, we can’t always fix it.
one of the classic illustrations is in friendships and marriages. usually, someone in the marriage, usually the guy is the fixer....and guys have to learn early on that when their wife brings them an issue or problem, your spouse is not always looking for a solution unless they ask, they are looking for listening, empathy, compassion, and understanding.
when it comes to fixing our suffering. some of the things we are going through are pretty complicated. it’s not a quick fix solution. and even though we have so many resources at our fingertips and AI, those resources may help, but they can’t always fix it. waiting patiently, challenges us not to be frantic, restless. patience leads to peace, the peace of God that we so desperately need.
expectant challenges us to avoid passivity—just lay back, fold my arms, and do nothing because God has got this. so if you are waiting on God to provide a job, one of the expectant things you could do is network, research, apply, send resumes (or get help to do so). if you are waiting on God in a very challenging, overwhelming situation, it’s leaning in, looking to him constantly and eagerly to do something.
whatever you are going through-are you waiting patiently? (or is it more frantic)
are you waiting expectantly? (Or is more passive and lazy)
i put the word “tension” here. some people here have said I love theological tensions—I do. patience puts it on God, expectantly, puts some of the responsibility on us.
Mark Vroegop says this about waiting: “Many of us are surprised by waiting’s tension. The discomfort makes it seem like something’s wrong. We waste a lot of waiting because we resist or resent the sense of powerlessness. Therefore, the first step is embracing—even normalizing—this conflicting feeling. Instead of being alarmed, escalating our emotions, or resisting the feelings, it’s helpful to welcome the tension as a normal part of waiting.” (How God Uses Waiting, Gospel Coalition)
Habakkuk is on the watch tower, expectantly—those guards who watched had to stay awake, to stay vigilant or their city could be at risk. they had to be patient, so there were not false alarms, and the night could drag on forever. Do you have that?
the next 2 points look specifically at how to have that tension:
Waiting on the LORD means to focus on God’s character. (vs. 12-13)
it is to focus on who He is in an intentional way.
look at verses 12-13 in chapter 1.
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
look at all the attributes of God that Habakkuk mentions...
He is everlasting...He will endure and outlive the Babylonian Empire
He is holy...holiness means morally—he is pure, never sins, righteous, but also unique. (vs. 12) vs. 13—says “your eyes are too pure to look on evil.
He is in control, or theologians use the term sovereign——it says “You LORD have appointed them to executed judgment. You have ordained them to punish.”
we see God is just; he cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
of course, God’s character and Habakkuk’s expectations clash...but as Habakkuk is waiting on the LORD to answer he is actively look at who God is.
and as he does that, that causes Him to compare in vs. 14—an following who we are.
vs. 14
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
and in vs. 15-17 he look at what Babylon and their rulers are like—they are like fisherman—pulling them up with hooks—and in vs. 16-worshipping other gods...
if you are in a season of waiting...maybe you are waiting to hear news back about a medical diagnosis...or you are in chronic illness and pain and fatigue or cancer, and the treatment is ongoing, indefinitely...it seems like it will never end and nothing will get better...
maybe you are waiting on a relationship to get better...trying to figure out how to make sense of it. you feel like you have done all you can...
waiting on a new opportunity or job and feel stuck… maybe you are trying to improve your financial situation but it seems like you can never get ahead...you are waiting....
or maybe waiting on a future open door...for clarity for the future...
maybe waiting on a person in your family or friend to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord
what are you waiting on?
Have you taken time to articulate who God is and remember Him...even if it can sometimes trouble us...
here are a couple specific ways you can do this:
A. —one is to be in God’s Word everyday—this is why a daily time in God’s Word, makes all the difference—because it reminds us of who God is. we see stories of people who had to wait...
I think of people like Hannah who had to wait to get pregnant, and God gave her Samuel.
I think of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years—their suffering came as a result of God’s discipline—they were waiting to get into the Promised Land
I think of the early apostles, after Jesus rose and ascended...he said to “wait for the gift my Father promised...” and they waited and prayed while they waited for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the Day of Pentecost.
so the question is - Do you have a plan for being in God’s Word
B. —another is journal the attributes of God—as you see them in the text—if you are ever stuck in God’s Word—reminding yourself of who God is
C. —related to that is a specific way of reading Scripture called lectio divina - i would encourage you to even google that. there’s 4 stages and a lot of it is slow, patient, reading, re-reading, underlining, journaling, taking a good chunk of time to really read it...
D. —write down your expectations of God… waiting reveals those expectations in a way we didn’t even know we had. I mentioned last week Jamie and our story of having 2 miscarriages before having our 3 kids—we had to wait for a season before we could have a kid—almost 2 years of journeying that before we had Caleb.
We had these expectation (and we didn’ even know it) that pregnancy should go smoothly, normally, healthily, that it should be smooth sailing...that our kid should have no problem, that everything should always work out and no problems come up. what are your expectations that waiting is revealing?
E. another way is to worship and pray in community - as we gather, sing, pray, read Scripture, hear God’s Word TOGETHER that is powerful! Your presence makes a difference.
and I want to draw out one of those ways of
pray in community...and I want to actively try this.
we are going to try it right now...
in a moment, we will pray out loud—one at a time as a group...and we are going to keep it simple.
1 sentence prayers where we pray in this format:
“God, you are _______________.”
“God, you are loving....
“God you are strong....
“God you are __________ (another attribute of God.)
so 1 or 2 sentences—popcorn prayer—try to speak loudly—as I hear it, I will repeat what you said. we will do this in prayer—remembering who God is.
Let’s do it right now: (prayer time)
when we behold God, we are changed...
we wait, patiently, expectantly, God-centered-ly, actively, remembering Him...
and that’s Habakkuk is doing—if God is everlasting—then God must have a plan that is bigger than what I can see right now...
or if God truly is just and cannot tolerate evil—then He must be doing something through Babylon that I don’t understand but will trust Him...
this is why Mark Vroegop who I referenced earlier said this about waiting:
“Waiting on God is living on what I know to be true about God when I don’t know what’s true about my life.”
Waiting on the LORD means focusing on Jesus.
I said last week 2 principles:
we read the OT in light of the NT
Jesus is the key to interpreting these OT books.
39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,
Habakkuk didn’t understand this yet—maybe He knew it was coming in some way.
He didn’t understand it...we understand it way better...
As I look at the life of Jesus...did He ever have to wait?
He was waiting...waiting for the perfect time to reveal Himself. His brothers and family egged him on to reveal Himself publicly—but Jesus said “My time is not yet here...” “My time has not yet fully come...”
As He nears the cross, Jesus was waiting in the Garden of Gethsemane...my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death...
On the cross, Jesus endured and was waiting to die, a cruel, agonizing tortuous death, bearing the wrath of God for sin in our place....
I do believe that Jesus, when He died when to paradise, or heaven with God, and his body to the ground, but He was waiting in heaven for His resurrection body...
if you go back to your text—and look at those attributes of God...we see how God is everlasting through Jesus...Jesus always existed, took on flesh, died, rose again, never to die again—the everlastingness of God is proved through His Son Jesus Christ.
we also know we can trust God because God executed judgment and ordained punishment on Himself—His Son—so if we question God’s justice—we know that God was willing to take the justice of sin on Himself in our place.
and on the cross, it seemed like the wicked were thriving—and the righteous, Jesus was being swallowed up...
but - Jesus was actually triumphing through the waiting...
being a Christian is all about waiting...waiting for God to answer, the OT people waiting for a Messiah like Jesus to come, waiting to grow to be more like Jesus, waiting for Jesus to return...
closing...
why might God have us wait...
God’s ways are different from ours.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
cliche but true.
To make us more like Jesus.
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
could it be that through the waiting...God is giving me an opportunity to know Him deeper, depend on Him more, and become more like Jesus?
