Walking in Confidence - Habakkuk 3:17-19

Introduction

Benjamin Franklin -

This third chapter of Habakkuk was loved by Benjamin Franklin. While to the best of our knowledge, Franklin was not a believer, he was a Deist, which means he believed that God created everything and then stepped back to let it all run its course. God has done nothing to intervene and He has no overall plan for creation. However, he admired and respected the Bible.

At the same time, however, there was a movement in France known as the enlightenment which led the French scholars to despise and reject the Bible as relevant and authoritative. We as people are smart enough on our own to make it through life, we don’t need something as ancient and irrelevant like the Bible to tell us how to live. Franklin, however, while not a believer, admired the Bible and wanted to see how much of the Bible these scholars really knew.

So on one trip to France, Franklin had an ancient poem written down on a parchment of paper. He told them he had discovered this poem and wanted to see what they thought. After reading it, the scholars were astonished by the work of poetry that Franklin had found and asked him where he had found it. He told them it came from the third chapter of Habakkuk’s book.

Why was this ancient poem so powerful to them? Because, like we have seen so far, Habakkuk’s life and what he experienced is so much like our experience today and it is a moving piece of Scripture showing us where we can find our strength for a truly confident life in the midst of uncertainty.

read Habakkuk 3:17-19

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.

What would you do if the worst happens? This is the question Habakkuk is answering for himself by starting with this supposition of devastation.

Habakkuk 3:17 (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,

Habakkuk, after his prayer of faith, moves into a time of worship and he begins with an “if… then” statement. I spent some time in college in computer science before God called me into the ministry.

One of the most common elements in coding and computer programming are “If..Then” statements. You are telling the computer, “If x happens, then you will do y.” It’s a way of having the computer complete different processes based upon the situation.

Habakkuk starts off by saying “Though” or “If.” The situation he describes here in verse 17 is about as bleak as you can possibly think of.

If the fig tree does not blossom, or fruit grows on the vine.

If the produce of olive should fail and the fields yield no food or the flock be cut off or no herd or animals in the stalls.

Essentially, he is saying, if my pantry was empty and the grocery stores were cleaned out.

Our youngest son, Liam, loves mandarin oranges.

Hannah also loves her cereal.

they are very quickly eating us out of house and home by the amount of oranges he eats. Of course, I’m exaggerating, if only by a bit.

He will go through a pack of those oranges in just a day if we let him. But we know that when we run out, we can go to WalMart or John Brooks and pick up another pack for him. There is not a real danger of us running out of more oranges for him to eat.

However, Habakkuk is asking the question, what if the situation got so bleak that there was no food to be had and all the grocery stores were empty and nothing was to be found?

What would you do in that situation? How would the story of your life play out if this was the situation you faced? What would the resulting effects look like if this was what reality looked like for us? Where is our hope for life found?

For Habakkuk, this is not a comfortable thought. If you go back to Habakkuk 3:16

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.

He is being honest that this is not a comfortable place to be in. There is fear in the midst of this situation. And yet, we see his confidence is not placed in what he has.

We have to remember that God has not promised peace and security for any of His people, despite what the popular televangelists and prosperity gospel preachers say. In fact, Jesus quite plainly tells us the opposite is true.

Jesus never promises an easy life. John 16:33

John 16:33 (ESV)

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

He promises that the world we live in will be hard and we will have tribulation. But our confidence isn’t in the situations we face, but in the fact that Christ is with us wherever we go.

Rejoice in the Victory of Jesus

Habakkuk 3:18 (ESV)

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

In verse 17, Habakkuk set up the what if scenario of devastation, which is more of a when rather than an if. Devastation is coming and Habakkuk knows that at this point it is inevitable.

And while he is fearful, here in verse 18, he gives us his response to what is coming.

For Habakkuk, he says his response as a result of devastation is going to be the same as during times of peace and prosperity, he will rejoice in the Lord.

He is not rejoicing in the fact that devastation is coming.

He is not rejoicing in his people’s judgment.

He is not rejoicing in the success of the Chaldeans.

He is rejoicing in God and in His faithfulness and salvation for His people even in the midst of devastation and seeming hopelessness.

The term “I will rejoice” could better be translated as “I will triumph in the Lord.” Habakkuk has joy in the God of his salvation because there is victory in the Lord’s presence. One could ask, how could this be? How could he triumph and find victory in this kind of situation?

Too often we judge our victories based on favorable circumstances in life. We think victory is having the perfect job, perfect spouse, perfect car or house or children. Or victory is having a government that views things exactly like I do. In essence, victory is when things allow me to be happy with how they are. If I am happy then I am triumphant. We live in a culture where success is determined by our circumstances and feelings.

However, Habakkuk is saying I will triumph in the Lord, even when I’m fearful and not happy with how things are.

It is a change in thinking that success in life is not about what we have or how God has blessed us. It is seeing that God Himself is the ultimate blessing and that all the other blessings in life merely point to Him.

It’s being able to say with Paul, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” - Philippians 1:21. It’s knowing that whether I live or die, if Christ is by my side I have everything I need and that is the actual victory.

why is death gain for Paul? Because the real blessing in life does not come from what God gives to us but is found in Christ Himself. And death is the entrance into Christ’s presence.

Paul learned to love Christ more than he loved anything in this earth, so he was able to lose it all in order to gain Christ Himself. Christ was not a means to blessing, He is the blessing!

Because Habakkuk was able to triumph in The Lord, he was able to love God more than anything in this life, he was able to place his confidence in God’s strength and security. As a result he was able to live by faith in obedience to the will of God.

Place your Confidence in the All-Sufficiency of Christ

Habakkuk 3:19 (ESV)

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 answer to how Habakkuk could triumph in the Lord is because through this interaction he has shared with God and through his personal relationship with the Lord, he has experienced the strength and security that the Lord provides.

He has learned that whatever he might face in this world, God’s strength will uphold him and keep him secure, even in the midst of death. He gives the image of a deer standing on the narrow ledges of the mountain side where one false move could mean death and yet the deer remains secure. Likewise, in this world which seems so hopeless and insecure, Habakkuk has found eternal security within the arms of His Savior. No matter what happens to him, he will remain secure because of God’s strength.

This strength was on display for us in the cross. When Christ came and lived the perfect life and died the death our sin deserved, He purchased eternal life and security for us, so that when someone places their faith in Him, they do not need to fear what the world does to them. Even when everything is taken away, our possessions, our families, our freedoms, we know there is one thing they cannot take from us, our security in the arms of Christ. Because of Christ’s work on the cross, our feet are like the deer’s, knowing nothing can pull us down.

In his letter to the Philippians, which many call Paul’s letter of joy, Paul talks about finding contentment and joy in whatever situation he might find himself. Philippians 4:11-13

Philippians 4:11–13 (ESV)

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

His confidence and contentment in this world wasn’t based upon if his needs were met or not. His security and contentment was based upon his confidence in the Lord to carry him through and to meet all his needs. He found strength to overcome any and all situations because of the strength of Christ for him. Jesus Himself was enough for Paul so Paul was strengthened to be content in all situations.

Liam in the pool and his confidence that comes from being in the arms of mom or dad.

Habakkuk was complaining in chapter one because he saw the loss of all the good things that he enjoyed in life. But as God showed him what he was doing and that God would remain with Habakkuk and the remnant of those who would continue to trust in Him, Habakkuk moved from Complaint to Confidence, realizing that while he was losing some good things, he would still have the best thing because he would still have the Lord.

This confidence and security in Christ leads us to forsake the things of this world and to find true joy and victory in Christ, enabling us to risk everything because we know that in Christ, we really aren’t risking anything because everything of eternal importance that we have is secure in Him.

We need Christ to change our hearts about what we value as important. If what we consider blessings and success are merely our treasures and possessions and even our physical life on earth, then yes, there is great fear in losing those things. But if blessings and success are found in Christ Himself, then there’s nothing that can take that away and we can walk in confidence in this world of wickedness and uncertainty sharing the light of Christ wherever we go, trusting that we are safe and secure in the hands of the Lord!

Conclusion