Even When It Hurts

Good morning Ambassadors, a joy to be with you once again this morning. Welcome to those of you here onsite, and a grateful welcome to those joining us live online and watching after. We gather this morning to worship the risen Savior Jesus Christ and I’m grateful to be able to share with you some reflections from God’s Word - specifically Habakkuk chapter 3.

Pastor JP has led us through the first 2 weeks of this series, looking at how this book more than reveals what Habakkuk’s response is to God’s oracle; it reveals to us the character of God. God in this book has given to Habakkuk the impending destruction of the people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem at the hands of the Chaldeans (Babylonians). We have seen the raw emotion from Habakkuk and the honest words he had for God. We’re going to get deeper into that part of it as we begin in Habakkuk 3. Follow along with me in your Bibles, or pull up the digital bulletin on our website that contains the text for this morning.

Habakkuk 3:16–19 (ESV)

I hear, and my body trembles;

my lips quiver at the sound;

rottenness enters into my bones;

my legs tremble beneath me.

Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble

to come upon people who invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off 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.

God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer’s;

he makes me tread on my high places.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

Let’s go back and look at verse 16 as we begin and we look at the WHAT of our passage.

Habakkuk 3:16 ESV

I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.

The What of our message today is this:

What - Habakkuk’s journey with God’s will

As I shared earlier, this book is filled with an honest conversation from the prophet of God to God Himself. Throughout the Old Testament we have seen various opportunities where people have “talked back” to God in honest complaint. We remember Moses, who pleaded with God to spare the people at Mount Sinai when they turned their back on the Lord and worshipped the golden calf statue. We remember Abraham, who prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared for the lives of his nephew and family, Lot. We see it over and over again in Scripture. Israel’s cycle of communion, brokenness, judgment, repentance, and restoration is a journey with which can all relate. The people of God before Christ and after Christ all struggle with the sin nature that inhabits their lives and it is a sanctifying work of the Spirit. Thankfully, now, our cycle does not include judgment because Christ has taken on the judgment for us. We merely participate in the cycle and only see consequences of our sin and brokenness; but not judgment.

Habakkuk’s honesty here in verse 16 paints a picture for us when we see the coming storm. The fear that he feels seems like it is overwhelming - he feels it in his bones. When the pandemic hit 13 months ago - what happened to your heart? When the restrictions began coming down 12 months ago - what did you feel in your bones? When the second wave/spike hit - did your legs begin to tremble?

I confess that I have been, as of late, experiencing a lot of pandemic fatigue. I don’t want another zoom call, I don’t want to put on my mask ever again. It’s at moments like these recent ones that I begin to have these conversations with God. I have to ask myself - am I unhappy with what the pandemic has shown us about society, or am I unhappy with what God has shown me about myself from within this time? Undoubtedly, it is some mixture of both. But for many of us, we have seen this conversation happening all around us. We are all having it out with God - not because of any sin necessarily, but because a relationship with someone implies open and honest communication.

The description from Habakkuk here was a revelation of the true feeling and emotions he had regarding the impening judgment. He says this at first in Habakkuk 3:2

Habakkuk 3:2 ESV

O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.

In wrath, remember mercy. May that be our prayer as well today as we remember the mercy God showed us in pouring out His wrath on Jesus.

Let’s move forward and take a look at the so what this morning.

Our so what is this:

So What - God’s faithfulness always finds its way

Habakkuk 1:5 ESV

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.

When things are going wrong and things are not according to our plan or how we would want them to go, what is the first question normally asked of God?

It’s WHY? Why God have you done this to me? or Why God did you allow this to happen? This has been a theme for us these past 2 weeks in Habakkuk, but it’s vital for us to think about how we respond to trouble and how God calls us to lean wholly on him.

When we ask why - which is a totally natural response and one can reasonably expect to ask such a question - we are confessing to God that our circumstances feel bigger than the plan. This exactly what Habakkuk did in verse 16 - he told God exactly where he was at with God’s plan.

But just after, Habakkuk rejoices in the Lord. How could he do that knowing about the coming destruction of Judah? Because even he knew of the faithfulness of Father God. God had allowed Israel to be enslaved in Egypt for four centuries - but He loved them and had a plan for them. God allowed Israel to be judged in various ways before they ever had a king like Saul or David, but He had a plan for them.

You see, Habakkuk knew the promises of God just as well as anyone. He knew of the deliverance of God’s people out of the hands of the Egyptians at the parting of the Red Sea. He knew of the leadership of Moses; he knew how God had remained faithful to His people throughout the centuries.

Habakkuk was looking back and seeing the faithfulness of God in the past, and seeing that God’s will and God’s plan would ultimately provide the best delivery on His promises. He was looking back at Moses, Abraham, and other patriarchs of the faith and trusting in the same God who came through time and time again. He was looking forward to the coming King, the true deliverer, the Messiah that would once and for all take away judgment for grace and mercy.

We are on the other side of Christ, looking back at the work he did on earth, on the cross, and out of the tomb. We look back and see a faithful God who has orchestrated human history and our very lives to take place in such a way that brings Him glory and draws people to Himself. Like Habakkuk, we look forward. We see ahead the culmination of all things being drawn to God, and seeing God perfect all that is broken. We relish in the promise of a new creation body, a new heaven, and a new earth. We long for that far country, just as Habakkuk longed for the redemption that would come after.

We can, like Habakkuk, expect destruction in the days, months, and years ahead; not because we are asking for it, but because sin is all around us. It infects our world like a virus and it will take until Christ returns to make it better.

Let’s now take a look at the Now What of our text this morning. The Now What is the “OK, I know what’s happening and why it’s important, now what do I do with it this afternoon, tomorrow, next week?”

Now What - We live our lives in godly satisfaction

Let’s return to the text once again:

Habakkuk 3:17–19 ESV

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off 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. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

The Westminster Catechism says in its first question and answer that “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

The first and primary challenge for us as we look for the hope in the hurt is to remain joyful. Dr. John Piper has famously refrained throughout his ministry that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” It’s that point that God Himself is our satisfaction and joy - our circumstances that follow are but merely secondary to who He is and what He has done for us.

Making the effort, or really, allowing God to pour in the grace we need for this presents us with opportunities, two of which I would like to share with you this morning.

Opportunity 1 - To prepare our hearts by listening to God’s Word and orienting our lives to go according to His plan.

Closing story about Mark G. “GHAP”

Finally, but of utmost importance is our second opportunity.

Opportunity 2 - To share with others the hope we have and the joy that reigns in us - even when it hurts

God’s means of bringing salvation to the world starts with the Church. The brokenness going on in the lives that we touch every day can be healed - in the blood of Jesus Christ. If only we would call others to believe in Him and trust in Him. We want people to take joy in the God of their salvation! We want our friends, families, and neighbors to hear that there is a hope beyond this life. That rejecting God and His Son means eternal punishment and separation from God, but acceptance and submission to His will is a joy everlasting.