I Will Joy in God (2)

The prophet Habakkuk whose name means to wrestle has been wrestling throughout this short book with the subject of seeming injustice. Particularly how a holy God could use a wicked nation like Babylon to chasten Judah. If you study the whole book you will see his transition from confusion, and misunderstanding to the lightbulb coming on.

His Aha! moment seems to be somewhere around chapter 2 verse 4 where he sums it up in the phrase, "The just shall live by faith." This verse is found three times in the New Testament. Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. Romans emphasizes the just, Galatians on how they should live, and Hebrews is on the faith. It took three whole books to explain and apply this one verse of Habakkuk.

Obviously God knew Habakkuk wouldn't be the only one to struggle with this.

Chapter three is a prayer psalm for both private devotions and public worship. It consists of two poetic parts

Verses 3-7 Deals with God's leading the children of Israel from out of the southland toward the crossing of the Jordan. (God came from Teman from the south) Verses 8-15 - Reminds us of the exodus and early happenings in the Promised Land.

This passage a prayer begins with a passionate plea for Revival which we may deal with Wednesday night, he turns from a prayer of revival to worship.

Habakkuk in verses 16-19 employs three different approaches to these things he's been wrestling with that I think we can learn from.

I Will WAIT - 16-17 Now the KJV uses the word "REST" but that means to wait. Wait upon the Lord, that is how we win the battle, mount up with wings as eagles, get above it all.

Dr. Warren Wiersbe put it this way -

Over the years, I've often leaned on three verses that have helped me wait patiently on the Lord. "Stand still" (Ex. 14:13), "Sit still" (Ruth 3:18), and "Be still" (Ps. 46:10). Whenever we find ourselves getting "churned up" within, we can be sure that we need to stop, pray, and wait on the Lord before we do some stupid thing.

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary – The Prophets, (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2002), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 421-422.

I WILL REJOICE - 18 - This is a hard one, to rejoice when you don't see, or understand. This is also an intentional act of the will according to the wording in this verse.

Paul reminds us in the NT to "Rejoice evermore," It's one thing to "whistle in the dark" and try to bolster our courage, and quite something else to sing about the eternal God who never fails.

Though his lips were trembling and his legs were shaking (Hab. 3:16, niv), the prophet burst into song and worshiped his God. What an example for us to follow!

It reminds us of our Lord before He went to the cross (Mark 14:26), and Paul and Silas in the Philippian dungeon (Acts 16:19-34). God can give us "songs in the night" (Pss. 42:8; 77:6; Job 35:10) if we'll trust Him and see His greatness.Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary – The Prophets, (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2002), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 422. While on a short-term missions trip, Pastor Jack Hinton was leading worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around.

"It was the most hideous face I had ever seen," Hinton said. "The woman's nose and ears were entirely gone. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, 'Can we sing "Count Your Many Blessings"?'"

Overcome with emotion, Hinton left the service. He was followed by a team member who said, "I guess you'll never be able to sing that song again."

"Yes I will," he replied, "but I'll never sing it the same way."[1]

George Matheson, noted poet and man of God, lost his sight as a youth and spent thirty years in darkness. The third stanza of one of his widely-known hymns reads:

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.

George Matheson had learned to live with his darkness. More than that, he had learned the benefits of his handicap. His victory is seen in the words he once wrote:

My God, I have never thanked thee for my thorn. I have thanked thee one thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross, but never thought of my cross as a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross. Teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have been my rainbow.

Stephen F. Olford, The Sword of Suffering, (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2001), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 135-136.

Campbell Morgan said, "Our Joy is in proportion to our trust. Our trust is in proportion to our knowledge of God.

I WILL RELY - 19 - Habakkuk says I will rely on God - He is my strength. When our legs shake and our hearts pound we want to sit down somewhere safe, But not Habakkuk he says, God makes me like the deer, surefooted and able to run swiftly and go higher than he'd ever gone before.

God made us for the heights, if He allows us a valley, it so we might wait on Him and mount up with "Eagles' Wings."