You know one of the things I love about being a Christian? I know that God has a plan for me. I know that God will use me for his will, and that is a great feeling.
last week we went over the 1st chapter of Habakkuk. We saw that Habakkuk, a Godly man saw that his people and God Chosen people turning on God by sinning against God.
Now Habakkuk had being praying to God to come down and save His people once again, but God had other things on His mind.
God had raised up the Babylonians to over take the Israelite and to put them into captivity. This was not what Habakkuk had wanted but this was to be God’s will.
Today we are going to take look at God’s will. His will for us, His planet, His beginning and His end. The good the bad and how we should act.
I believe that Habakkuk’s response to in the 3rd chapter of the book named after him is the best way we can see how to respond to God in any scenario.
Now the 3rd chapter of Habakkuk is a song to God. Habakkuk knew what God’s plan was and he knew that it was going to be rough for him and his people but he rejoiced, knowing that God had a plan and that it was a good plan. So let’s look at a little of the song of Habakkuk.
16 I heard, and I trembled within; (I)
my lips quivered at the sound.
Rottenness entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress
to come against the people invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will triumph in the LORD;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! (J)
19 Yahweh my Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer (K)
and enables me to walk on mountain heights!
we have here, Habakkuk looking at a future that does not look very good and he rejoices in the Lord.
Now people have asked, “Why would Habakkuk rejoice in a God that was going to hand him over to the bad guys?” The answer is simple, he trusted the Lord. Habakkuk knew that God would be with him no matter the good or bad. Habakkuk stopped being afraid and started to have faith in God.
So today I want us to look at God’s plan overall and then I want us all to rejoice in the Lord no matter what happens.
I. The Plan
at first Habakkuk was appalled at God’s plan. The thought that God would use a wicked nation like the Babylonians to come in and take over the people of Judah, that was just something that Habakkuk could not see as good.
But God was just using the Babylonians to do His will to bring the Israelite back to God.
God has a plan for all. Like last week we talked about how this is God’s Box, His creation, His people, His everything and He has a plan.
When God Created the earth, He had a plan. When He created us, He had a plan. God is always in the drivers seat and His will, will be done.
from the beginning, middle, and end, God has a plan. It has already been written. And God’s plan will come out on top, no matter what we have to say.
Now we don’t always understand His plan. Just like Habakkuk, he did not understand God’s plan but Habakkuk knew that if it was God’s plan then it was the right plan.
Even when God says things like, “I’m going to hand you over” then we need to remember that this is God’s plan and we need to go along with it.
we not only need to go along with it but we need to rejoice in God’s plan.
Illus: I was reading this book for school. The book dealt with a company that had brought in a new CEO to run things. Now when the CEO started to change things up the people got mad. They would say things like; “Look at the new girl, what does she know?” and they were really hard on her, but the thing was is that the new CEO had the stills to take this company to the top and she had a plan to make things run better. After the company went from 3rd place too 1st, the workers started to see that this new CEO was the real deal.
God is the best CEO we can have and when He has a plan, we need to follow no matter what we think because God has been doing this for some time now and remember that this is his Box, His company, so he know what’s what.
God’s plan will happen and we are to follow through the good and the bad.
II. What happen when the plan looks rough
We like it when things go our way. When things go good we always praise God. When life is easy, it is easy to give God the glory. But it’s when times are hard that’s when we seem to lack in this area.
We can all learn things from Habakkuk. When he was faced with the idea of being taken into captivity, he was scared but then he had faith.
See when our lives seem hard and complicated, instead of turning to God most time we try to take things into our own hands. We tend to think that we can handle our lives better than God can. We lose focus of who is in control and tend to get selfish.
when things go good we throw are hands in the air and praise God and when things go bad we tend to ask God why and want answers. But what we should do in any issue, good or bad, we should rejoice in the Lord.
See God uses not only the good times but uses the bad as well. Habakkuk’s days were going to be hard, people were going to suffer and even die. But God used it for good, His plan is always good.
But we must have faith in God to get us through the good times and the hard times. And thats brings us to our 3rd point;
III. To have faith in God, is to rejoice in Him
Habakkuk was able to rejoice in the Lord was because Habakkuk had faith in God.
He was able to do this because Habakkuk was told by God in Chapter 2 that the Babylonians would not go unpunished and that this whole plan was to bring the people closer to God.
Habakkuk knew that God would not lie to him so he knew that what God was saying was true and that God’s plan would happen.
So what else was Habakkuk to do then to hand Himself over to Gods plan and rejoice in it as well.
now I’m sure he was still confused, scared, mind blown, but Habakkuk sucked it up and followed God’s plan. And that brings me to my 4th point
VI. If we follow God will Lead
Like I have said, the only reason the Babylonians were able to take over the Israelites was because God allowed it. See nothing happens unless God allows it.
sometimes when things happen we don’t want to go through it, but we must follow.
when we look at things like Habakkuk or even the end times, we know that God’s people are going to endure suffering. We know that times will be hard but we must stand tall and have faith and rejoice in the Lord the entire way.
Every person has a place in God’s plan, but we must look to God and how God will use us.
Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Illus: I have known from the time I was 14 that God wanted me to help people. I did not know how and I tried ever option I could but I just could not find what God wanted me to do.
It wasn’t until a pastor told me that I could help people on a spiritual level that I understood what my part in God’s plan was for me.
Now I know for a fact what God wants me to do and let me tell you, I have had my ups and downs. It has been easy and ruff, but I have always rejoice because I know that God loves me and that He will always be there for me. I know that God will never make me do something that I can’t handle and I know that when I do his will, then He is pleased with me, and that’s a good thing.
You can know God’s plan for you. Call on Him and give your life to God and live in His plan.
