HABAKKUK 3:18-19
A FAITH THAT LEAPS / The Leaping of Faith
[Lamentations 3:20-26]
Habakkuk has placed his faith in his God of Grace and Glory not only for the survival of his nation but for his personal existence and well being also. Judah was an agrarian economy. She derived most of her substance from crops such as figs, grapes, olives, and other produce of the field as well as livestock such as herds of cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats. Even though these sources of substance might fail Habakkuk sees that ultimately his existence is not based on them, but upon their source, YAHWEH. He is the covenant God who keeps His promises with His people. In periods of affliction He proves Himself Savior of His covenant people (3:13; Ex. 15:1-2; 2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 18:2,46; Mic. 7:7).
So as Habakkuk accepts God’s righteous judgment that shook him up in the core of his being he finds the incredible grace gift of faith that causes him to rejoice and rise to new places of faith and strength. In accepting the fearful, challenging Word of God, he found grace to soar above circumstances and to stand on God’s high places. My prayer is that you will too.
I. TRANSFORMING TRUST, 18.
II. WONDROUS WALK, 19.
Despite the coming judgment and the suffering it will bring, Habakkuk’s faith in God has been strengthen and He inherits a joy that is beyond human logic. Verse 18 moves us from the fearful impact of God’s word (16) and possible deprivation (17) to triumph, joy, and faith. A journey God would have us take with Habakkuk. "Yet I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."
The impact of the word upon Habakkuk demonstrated in verse 16 develops its intended outcome here. Habakkuk affirmed that even in times of starvation and loss, he would still rejoice in the Lord. He and other good people are going to suffer hardship because of God’s judgment on the wick. But he believes that God is good and that no matter how bad life is, God is worthy of praise for He is the source of hope and joy. Rejoicing in such times happens by faith. Habakkuk’s feelings were not controlled by the events around him but by faith in God. He did not state that he would merely endure in the time of distress. He said he would exult and rejoice in the God of his salvation. It was in God and his experiencing Him as Savior and trusting in His sovereignty that brought about this joyful inner disposition that found outward expression in praise.
We don’t like bad times, but we have to believe that God knows about us, and that somehow He will use our bad times to better our lives. He’ll conform us into the image of Christ through them. As we go through the agony and pain of whatever you have to go through, remember that God is in control. There will come a time when God will bring you through it. You will begin to see why He allowed it to happen in the first place. But in faith we’ve got to be willing to go through the agony.
In the midst of it, we can rejoice. The Hebrew behind "exult" means to visibly show to all that regardless of how bad your circumstances are, you have chosen to trust God. They see it on your face. They hear it out of your mouth. They don’t hear you complaining or. murmuring. They hear you saying, "I am trusting in the God of my salvation."
That is living on a high place. A proud person can’t live on the high places. A proud person won’t do that because he doesn’t believe that there is a God who really is in control.
Habakkuk’s rejoicing was grounded in and sprung from his deep relationship with God. Though all else be stripped away and stripped from him he can never be deprived of his covenant keeping God. Hear him claim God as his God that brings him personal deliverance by declaring Him the God of my salvation. The intimacy of relationship is sure and solid, based on the eternal covenant promises of God, rather than on emotion or passing fad or whim.
[But, there is one more thing about waiting: attitude. "I will rejoice in the God of my salvation" the prophet insists. Psalm 40 says: "I was in the pit, and I cried out. God heard my cry, brought me out, put my feet on the rock and gave me a new song in my heart." That’s what God wants to do in your life.]
What desolation the Babylonians were to carry out, but what consolation God grants His servants to carry them through. Not only will they have calm in the hour of trial but joy in spite of all the desolations of the land. This is one of the most forceful manifestations of faith’s power recorded in the Bible.
ABOVE THE CIRCUMSTANCES
I remember a story about a woman who was very discouraged because of the many problems in her life. As she was walking down the street, she met a fellow believer who asked, "How are you doing today?"
With a sour look and a bitter shrug she replied, "Oh, not too bad--under the circumstances."
The other person quickly countered, "Well, get above the circumstances! That’s where Jesus is."
The prophet Habakkuk was of the same mind. He refused to let circumstances dampen his faith or crush his hope. He looked to the future not with pessimistic fears of what else could go wrong, but with faith in God no matter what would happen. Even if he lost all his possessions, Habakkuk proclaimed that he would continue to trust the Lord to meet his needs.
Our eyes are to be focused on the Lord, not on our circumstances. We are to live above the shadows of fear and bask in the sunlight of faith. Even though we, like Habakkuk, may have a long list of troubles, faith’s answer to disappointment must always be: "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will joy in the God of my salvation". That type of attitude will enable us to live above the circumstances instead of under them.
Joy is available to everyone, even to those stripped of every material possession, for joy is to be found in a person. It comes through an intimate and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, so that even those in the worst circumstances can smile.
II. WONDROUS WALK, 19.
Habakkuk’s prophecy concludes in verse 19. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.
What is a hind? It is a doe. A doe is equipped to get up on those high ledges. God wants to equip us for high places, also. The last line of verse 19 is a key to the whole book of Habakkuk: "..And He makes me walk on my high places." What is the worst situation you have to face? Well, you have a choice. You can be in a low place in that circumstance or be on a high place. The question is, do you trust God? Will you rely on His strenght?
UNDESERVED BLESSINGS
Tennis superstar Arthur Ashe died of AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. More than a great athlete, Ashe was a gentleman who inspired and encouraged many with his exemplary behavior on and off the court.
Ashe could have become embittered and self-pitying in the face of his disease, but he maintained a grateful attitude. He explained, "If I asked, ’Why me?’ about my troubles, I would have to ask, ’Why me?’ about my blessings. Why my winning Wimbledon? Why my marrying a beautiful, gifted woman and having a wonderful child?"
Ashe’s attitude rebukes those of us who often grumble, "Why me? Why is God allowing this to happen?" Even if we’re suffering acutely, we must not forget the mercies God pours into our lives--such things as food, shelter, and friends--blessings that many are deprived.
And what about spiritual blessings? We can hold the very Word of God in our hands and read it. We have the knowledge of His saving grace, the comfort of His Spirit, and the joyful assurance of life everlasting with Jesus.
Think about God’s blessings and ask, "Why me?" Then your grumbling will give way to praise.
William Cowper, the English poet who suffered from acute mental distress and illness, knew this personally, for he cast Habakkuk’s testimony into these great lines:
Though vine nor fig tree neither
Their wanted fruits should bear,
Though all the fields should wither,
Nor flocks nor herds be there;
Yet, God the same abiding,
His praise shall tune my voice;
For, while in Him confiding,
I cannot but rejoice.
The heights or high places describes the confidence and hope gained when by faith we gain victory over the enemy who sought to bring us down. It is leaping in the victory of purity, leaping in the victory of prayer, leaping over the bondage of sin.
How could Habakkuk have this rejoicing & leaping faith? Because the Lord God was his strength. Any strength or confidence which Habakkuk possessed was due to the Lordship of YAHWEH and rose from faith in Him (Ps 18:32, 39; Joel 2:25). The unfailing source of strength and confidence necessary to satisfaction and contentment is the Sovereign LORD Himself. Keep faith even when nothing makes sense, when troubles seem more than you can bear. Remember God is in control and that He gives strength. Take your eyes off your difficulties and look to your God.
The strength God gives is so bounding and surefooted it is compared to that found in a gazelle’s or deer’s feet. Not only does God provide stamina to endure hardship, He also provides vitality to walk on heights like a deer. These are active, surefooted animals that draw their resilience, grace and vigor for their life from God also. They can bound quickly through dark forests and we can come confidently through difficult circumstances.
God gives His followers surefooted strength through difficult times (2 Sam. 22:22-37; Ps. 18:34). They will run like deer across rough and dangerous terrain. The gazelle lives in his hostile mountainous environs by God’s strength to bound from precarious place to precarious place using them to mount up to the peak. With renewed and joyful strength, the prophet will be as a gazelle which is so swift that greyhounds drop off in the chase from overexertion. So the prophet would walk on the heights. He would not only bound through trials, he would climb to the mountaintops of victory and triumph.
Because of his faith in the Lord Habakkuk was able to swiftly leap as a deer on a precipice. His new faith enabled him surefooted confidence to bound and go higher with God than he had ever gone before. This is one reason the Lord permits us to go through trials - they can draw us near to Him, cause us to trust in Him more fully, so that He can lift us above the circumstances and walk on the heights with Him.
God wants our faith to lift us to new heights with Him. David experienced such growth in relationship when he was chased by King Saul and other enemies. "It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like hinds feet and sets me on my high places" (Ps. 18: 32-33; 2 Sam. 22:34).
The concluding words, For the director of music, on my stringed instruments say the prophet’s prayer was sung in public worship accompanied by the players of stringed instruments. The prophet’s complaint was replaced by vibrant cords of hope and happiness. The great expositor G. Campbell Morgan said, "Our joy is in proportion to our trust. Our trust is in proportion to our knowledge of God" and His Word (Rom. 10:17).
CONCLUSION
One of the shortest books in the Old Testament is the book of Habakkuk. In its three brief chapters we see an amazing transformation in the prophet’s outlook on life. His opening words express depths of despair, but at the close of the book he has risen to heights of joy. He finds the all-sufficient answer to all his problems in God Himself. He will trust God though all external blessings fail. What a word for the times in which we now live.
The Sovereign Lord gives triumph over circumstances to those who trust Him. The way to get out from under doubts is to get under the will of the Lord. To be under the Lord is to be over the circumstances. That lesson is worth the price of the book, especially when the world seems like a cesspool of quicksand.
Habakkuk teaches us to face our doubts and questions honestly, take them humbly to the Lord, wait for His Word to teach us, and then worship Him no matter how we feel or what we see. Like the prophet, we too must walk by faith and look forward to that glorious time when Jesus will return to earth to set up His kingdom of peace and righteousness. Maintaining our confidence in Him is the secret of true joy!
Habakkuk was about to "go under" when he started this book. Destruction, violence, strife, conflict, injustice, and wickedness were all he could see. But he cried out to God and his cry did not go unheeded. The Lord not only answered his complaint but also provided the confidence needed to lift him from the quagmire. Habakkuk started in the pits, but ended on the mountaintop. His journey was not exactly an easy one, but it was certainly worth it.
[What caused this remarkable change? Why did Habakkuk begin with a complaint and end with a song of praise? The answer lies in three verses in chapter 2. In addition to God’s message of judgment on the wicked, the Almighty told the troubled prophet, "The just shall live by his faith" (v.4). He also promised that someday the earth would "be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (v.14). Finally, He assured him that "the LORD is in His holy temple" (v.20). These wonderful truths were just what Habakkuk needed to lift him out of his deep depression. By fixing his eyes on God, he rose above his discouraging circumstances and found a source of lasting joy in the Lord.]
[God directed Habakkuk through the dialogue in chapter 1 in which He revealed His plans for disciplining Judah and destroying Babylon. Then at God’s command Habakkuk recorded a woeful dirge in chapter 2 that further justified God’s judgment on Babylon. Finally, the prophet reached a pinnacle of praise in which God revealed Himself in all His glory and power.]
The prophet’s complaints were swallowed up by confidence. His fear turned to faith. Habakkuk was transformed from a sour, jittery prophet weighed down with burdens to a secure, joyous preacher buoyed up with blessing. The just, the upright, the happy, the contented, the victorious live by their faith. Yes, faith is the victory that overcomes the world! (1 John 5:4)
God doesn’t always change our circumstances, but He can change us to meet our circumstances. That’s what it means to live by faith.
