Sermon - Moving From Pain to Praise
Habakkuk 3: 16-19 “I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”
Introduction: Why does God seem so far away? When will this anxiety be over? Why did I lose my job? Why did God take away my loved one? Why doesn’t God stop this war? Why do I worry so much when I know I should be worshipping? When God doesn't do what we want, we are tempted to get angry, lose faith, or take matters into our own hands. We must posture our heart to follow God lead. Walking humbly, remembering that God knows where He is going, and He knows what He is doing. While the delay may be frustrating or even confusing, we do know that God is at work behind the scenes to accomplish His will. You may not see His hand at work but you can trust that His promises are true. You may not be ready for the answer just yet but God is working to make sure you are ready when it comes.
The Prophet Habakkuk was a contemporary of Jeremiah and he ministered in a culturally and politically turbulent time, right before Babylon took Judah into exile. The reason I want us to look at this book is because Habakkuk, whose name means “wrestling,” had a number of questions for God. Sometimes wrestling with God is about going back repeatedly in prayer over something that is confusing us that he has said or that is happening in our lives. Sometimes, the wrestling looks a bit like negotiating with God, and at other times it looks like reminding God of his promises while asking him to act.
Habakkuk is unique among the prophets because he didn’t speak for God to the people, but rather spoke to God about his questions. The book is actually an intense dialog between the prophet and God, with Habakkuk arguing that God’s ways are incomprehensible and even unjust. I want us to consider some steps from Gloom to Glory – From Pain to Praise that might help us as we face uncertain and difficulties in life! Habakkuk, no doubt gives voice to some of our concerns and questions as we worry about the conditions of the world, our nation and even our community. Let’s look at this narrative flow where Chapters 1-2 contain prayers of pain and chapter 3 is filled with praise. Notice Habakkuk’s condition has not changed, but what He sees of God changes Him.
Don’t be afraid to declare your questions to God. Habakkuk begins with a quagmire of questions as we see in Habakkuk 1:2-3: “How long, O Lord, shall I call for help, and you will not hear? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you look casually at wrong?” He’s basically charging the Lord with loafing on the job, being indifferent, and inactive. Do you ever feel that way? God answers Habakkuk but never really answers his “how long” or his “why” questions. Instead, the Lord has him focus on one thing – living by faith in Habakkuk 2:4: “…But the righteous shall live by his faith.”
It’s always faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, because of the Scriptures alone, for the glory of God alone, that believers can keep moving forward. Believers cannot control the future or all of life circumstance. God is saying, “Hold on to me Habakkuk, because I know what I’m doing.”
Habakkuk 3:1 tells us this chapter contains the prophet’s prayer: “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.” This hard-to-pronounce word means, “to stagger to and fro.” Habakkuk is all over the place as his thoughts, yet he finds a way to move from gloom to glory. He found the secret that moved him from pain to praise. Let’s look at the lessons from this prophet. Habakkuk decided to reverence God.
1. Decide To Reverence God (Habakkuk 3:2-4). Notice how Habakkuk reveres God in verse 2: “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.” When filled with grief, gaze on the glory of God and learn again of His majesty and mercy, power, and person. Habakkuk like the prophet Isaiah needs a fresh view of God. Even when we don’t understand His actions, Our God deserves our reverence, respect, and worship. Reverence then is godly fear and is used as both a verb and a noun. We reverence Him and hold Him in reverence because of who He is. And what He can do. Throughout the Bible, the word fear is used interchangeably with revere or reverence. Habakkuk’s reverence for God caused him to be silent and consider just who God is.
2. Decide To Remember What God Has Done (Habakkuk 3:5-15). “His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden. Pestilence marches before him; plague follows close behind. When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the Eternal One! I see the people of Cushan in distress, and the nation of Midian trembling in terror. Was it in anger, Lord, that you struck the rivers and parted the sea? Were you displeased with them? No, you were sending your chariots of salvation! You brandished your bow and your quiver of arrows. You split open the earth with flowing rivers. The mountains watched and trembled. Onward swept the raging waters. The mighty deep cried out, lifting its hands in submission. The sun and moon stood still in the sky as your brilliant arrows flew and your glittering spear flashed. You marched across the land in anger and trampled the nations in your fury. You went out to rescue your chosen people, to save your anointed ones. You crushed the heads of the wicked and stripped their bones from head to toe. With his own weapons, you destroyed the chief of those who rushed out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be easy prey. You trampled the sea with your horses, and the mighty waters piled high.”
Next Habakkuk reviews God’s redemptive work in history in verses 5-15. It’s always a good idea to go back and remember what God has done in your life and in the lives of His children in the past. When we review, we discover God is doing much more than we thought. Psalm 103:2: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” What God has done in the past, He will do in the present, and He will be faithful in the future.
3. Decide To Rest in the Lord. Habakkuk 3:16-17, “I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,…”
The third step is to wait patiently. Habakkuk decided to rest in God’s timing, even though he didn’t like what was happening. Psalm 130:5: “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.”
While resting in God, Habakkuk seems to reflect on how God worked in the past and how God has used circumstances in Israel’s history. It’s important to spend time reflecting because God often uses painful events like pandemics to get our attention. C.S. Lewis said, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world....No doubt pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. it removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul.” C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
4. Decide To Rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk 3:18-19 “yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” Disappointment does not have to lead to despair. I love the small word “yet” in verse 18: “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Even though there was no food and no flocks, Habakkuk determined to rejoice in the God who saved him. This can be translated: “I will jump for joy in the Lord. I will spin around for delight in God!” His crisis of “though” was followed by a crescendo of “yet.” The final step is to rely on God for strength. Listen to verse 19: “GOD, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on my high places.”
When we rely on God, we can go from grieving to believing. R.C. Sproul writes, “This is God’s universe, and He will do things His way. You may have a better way, but you do not have a universe.” When troubles come, and they will, we must submit to the sovereignty of God.
In chapter one Habakkuk was low almost depressed. In chapter two he climbs up to the watchtower to wait for God’s answer. There he gets a clear vision of God. And in chapter three, he makes a personal decision to keep his eyes on God and to walk on the high places of life! He has steadily progressed on an upward climb toward God, going from gloom to glory and from pain to praise! Don’t waste your troubles. Use this time to know more about, to show other what God has done and to share the love that God has shown.
Then make your praise personal. Verse 18 says, “I will rejoice…I will take joy.” Have you engaged your will to worship God? Do you have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ? To handle your problems, you must first let Jesus handle you. Then you can Reverence God, Remember What God Has Done, Rest in God, Reflect on How God works and how God uses Circumstances and finally Rejoice in the Lord.
This text speaks to every believer who is concerned about the world around them. Those who witness unrest, confusion, and troubles on every side. Those who are powerless to control others or world events; those who cannot control political outcomes and can see doom and gloom all around. Like Habakkuk of old, we can determine our personal response. We can dare to trust God and leave the results to Him. God is well able. We can move from though to yet! Habakkuk 3:18-19 “yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” Disappointment does not have to lead to despair. I love the small word “yet” in verse 18: “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
Habakkuk could not control the weather nor the fig tree blossoms; he could not control the production of the grapes or the fruitfulness of the vines; He could not even control the olive crops or the coming harvest of grain or wheat. He could not control the fact that flocks die in the fields, and the cattle ran away or were stolen, leaving the barns empty. Neither did he know exactly what God would do, but he could hold on to God. I love the small word “yet” in verse 18: “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
You and I may not be able to control the outcome of Ukraine/Russian War or the Conflict in Gaza; we may not be able to control the political unrest or the violence in the street. We may not have the solution for the crisis at the border, but we hold on to God. We may not have an answer to the fires in Chili or the floods in California, but we can pray and hold on to God. The just shall live by faith! That was God’s answer then, and it’s God’s answer now. The just shall live by faith. Amen
