Praise God Anyway

Habakkuk 3 NASB95

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth. Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power. Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him. He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling. Did the Lord rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation? Your bow was made bare, The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah. You cleaved the earth with rivers. The mountains saw You and quaked; The downpour of waters swept by. The deep uttered forth its voice, It lifted high its hands. Sun and moon stood in their places; They went away at the light of Your arrows, At the radiance of Your gleaming spear. In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations. You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah. You pierced with his own spears The head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us; Their exultation was like those Who devour the oppressed in secret. You trampled on the sea with Your horses, On the surge of many waters. I heard and my inward parts trembled, At the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places. For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

Do you know what makes a great worship song?

For Habakkuk, we have seen the complaints brought before God- injustice, wickedness, physical strife- all this junk has overwhelmed the prophet. Last week, we watched God draw a line between the righteous and the wretched, promising His justice would be served to all.

Today, we come to the final chapter and find ourselves examining a prayer of Habakkuk that is the result of his reflection upon a sovereign God in the midst of a chaotic world. This is called a shigionoth [she-guy-on-ath] , which is like a poetic prayer, or a prayer in song. It’s full of passion and imagery and was likely sung in order to encourage those who trusted in the Lord.

I was going to ask James to put this chapter to music, but I really do want him to stay at LRBC, so I decided against it.

But, as we look at this prayer, I believe there are 3 distinct elements to it that you and I can learn from today. So, let’s walk through these elements together, and glean what we can.

Surrender Wholly to God(2)

In v. 2, we read that Habakkuk has heard God’s report- God has told him what is coming. Justice will be served in Judah and ultimately in every nation, even Babylon.

And listen to his words, I have heard, “and I fear.” There was a lot that the prophet did not like about God’s plan- there are a number of harsh realities that were difficult to accept. BUT, in a single sentence, Habakkuk petitions God from a place of complete surrender. (Read 2b)

He prays for God to revive His work.

He did not pray for rescue or deliverance

He did not pray for Babylon to fail

He did not pray for safety for his friends or family

He did not pray for a new leader and a stronger military

No, Habakkuk prayed that God would bring about His will in these times.

“God, whatever happens to me, my family, my country- I pray for your kingdom to come, for your glory to shine, for your purposes to be accomplished.”

BTW- Jesus actually teaches us to pray like this. You might recall, “They kingdom come, thy will be done....”

And this element of surrender is so important and practical for you and I today. You see, I believe there are a lot of folks who are praying, calling themselves Christians, but they are not surrendered to the will of God Almighty. Hey, I wonder,

Are you wholly surrendered to God’s will?

Here is a good test: What most concerns you? What dominates your conversations and your thoughts? Is it the Corona-virus? Is is riots and racism? Is it socialism? (These are all things that we should be concerned with, don’t hear me wrong.) But have we allowed these to be our primary concern?

Are you, Christian, not most concerned that God be glorified? Isn’t the purpose of our very existence to give glory to God in our lives, our homes, our workplaces?

Do you find yourself more concerned and occupied with the affairs of this world than the affairs of God’s Kingdom?

Should we not be so surrendered to God’s will that our main concern is the purity of the Bride of Christ, the health of the Body of Christ? Should our prayers not be more for the church to be set apart, surrendered to God, and winning souls for the Kingdom?

Rather, many Christians are so engrossed in prayers for political victories and personal comforts that we rarely pray for God’s will to be done. Instead of Habakkuk praying for rescue or relief, he prayed that God would have His way, that God’s name would be glorified in the midst of the calamity, and that God remember mercy in wrath.

BTW, God always couples mercy with justice. Just as we saw in Romans, God’s mercy is made known through justice. Aren’t you glad that God is just AND merciful?!?

Habakkuk teaches us to pray in complete surrender to the will of God. Next, he shows us that, in our prayers, we should

Remember WHO God is (3-15)

I find it interesting that the largest portion of Habakkuk’s prayer is remembering who God is…

Now, in technical terms, what we see in these verses is known as a theophany- a description or account of God in terms that people can understand. After all, God is not like man, and any physical descriptor would be impossible. So Habakkuk uses metaphors and imagery to describe the greatness of God throughout Israel’s history.

For example, Habakkuk writes about God marching, holding a spear, having a bow, and trampling on the sea with horses. We must understand that Habakkuk is attempting to relay God’s might and authority, not a literal picture.

We won’t take time this morning to walk through each picture, but we should note what Habakkuk is referencing. Essentially, it is a picture of God’s power through the Exodus;

The plagues, Parting of the Red Sea, Victorious Battles,

It is a tribute to the splendor and might of God- He is unconquerable, He outshines the sun! In His hands is the strength and power that has not only created the world, but which has overcome it. He is King and no country, no idea, no act of nature can usurp His greatness!

As we read through Habakkuk’s reflection on God, we see his focus move from the fear of man to faith in God.

He didn’t understand or agree with the challenges and problems he faced, but instead of lingering, He remembered the God who has proven Himself faithful and good. He remembered that God is infallible- He does not make mistakes; God never has to issue an apology nor does he have to delete a tweet. God is perfect, reliable, trustworthy.

BTW, History testifies to God’s faithfulness through the Babylonian conquest. We look back and see how they were taken captive, but later returned to the land, rebuilt the temple and the walls (Nehemiah, Ezra).

You see, I believe that the church in 2020 often forgets WHO God is. We’ve tried to make Him fit into our mold of understanding.

What would it look like if the church truly remembered/ recognized WHO God is?

IF we would just remember His holiness, we would be broken over our sins- offended by OUR transgression against God. We would cling to Him in gratitude for His mercy, singing His praises!

IF we would just remember His might, we would have boldness in our faith!

IF we would just remember His love, we would be begging to serve in His Kingdom; “Oh God, would you be willing to use a worm like ME to further your kingdom?” to boast in Him, to serve others, to give up our comforts and go on mission for Him. Friends, IF we really recognized WHO God is, we would beat the doors down to be a part of the work of the church, the Bride and body of Christ.

Can you imagine what that would look like in LRBC? Can you imagine how the world would change if our Christian leaders and politicians actually remembered WHO God is!?!? If we could remember God the way Habakkuk illustrates or the way Isaiah described, oh how our lives would change!!

Habakkuk teaches us to surrender, remember, and finally to

Praise God Anyway (16-19)

As we get toward the end of Habakkuk’s prayer, we acknowledge that he has surrender wholly to God, that he has remembered WHO God is, but we must also acknowledge that Habakkuk is still facing a legitimately troublesome time.

Notice how honest and raw the prophet is: (16)

He is not trying to pretend that a problem doesn’t exist

He is not trying to sweep it under the rug or minimize the devastation that is coming

No, Habakkuk confesses his fear before God.

But in his confession, Habakkuk accepts what God has told him. “I fear, but I will quietly wait for that day- trusting You, God.”

In fact, as we read the next couple verses, Habakkuk goes even further to say, “Whatever happens, whatever comes- if nature itself goes bazurk, if we face famine and poverty, if all of life spirals down the drain, YET, I will exult in the Lord! I will REJOICE in the God of my salvation!!!

Discuss: How can you praise God in the midst of trouble?

Friends, how could this be? Habakkuk gives us the answer in v. 19

The Lord God is my strength- He makes me stand! He provides what I need in order to hold fast. I can praise God through the storms of life because He is my strength.

Just as Job proclaimed, so Habbakuk does similarly- Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him”

Habakkuk had problems, but they were solved by God- not in changing the circumstance, but because God is trustworthy and good, he could praise God anyway.

Habakkuk’s reality caused him to shake, but his steadfast relationship with God was unshakeable.

Folks, as we prepare to leave this place today, I want to encourage you to SURRENDER WHOLLY TO GOD, REMEMBER WHO GOD IS, and PRAISE GOD ANYWAY.