Sermon – Navigating Seasons of Desperation
Scripture Lesson-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 -How do you move from gloom to glory? Are you ready to move from pain to praise? Habakkuk, God’s faithful prophet could hardly believe what his nation was experiencing. At one point God seemed so far away. Then again, God seemed closer but was ignoring the conditions of the world. Have you ever felt that way? Why does God seem so far away? When will this anger, hatred and evil ever end? Why did I lose my job? Why did He take away my loved one? Why doesn’t God stop these wars? Why do I worry so much when I know I should be worshipping? Why am I complaining when I should be praising?
His heart pounded, his lips quivered, decay crept into his bones, and his legs trembled (Habakkuk 3:16). He was confused, angry, terrified, and desperate for relief. He cried, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (Habakkuk 1:2). Habakkuk, an Old Testament prophet, experienced a season of trials that seemed endless. He was desperate for relief, for change, for God to intervene. Does that sound like something you can relate to?
I too recently felt like Habakkuk. The weight of grief, depression, and anxiety consumed me to the point where my heart pounded, my lips quivered, my legs trembled, and it felt like decay crept into my bones. My heart and flesh screamed for relief—and in my desperation, I found myself tempted to stray from the truth of God’s Word. I desired comfort above all else, but was called to rely on the Lord in my season of desperation. When you and I feel like there is “no hope for a harvest” (Habakkuk 3:17), when desperation distracts us from God’s truth, and when our faith is shaken, what do we do? We can learn from sufferers like Habakkuk.
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. 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. We see a confused prophet in the dumps, but he finds a way to move from gloom to glory. Regardless of his personal confusion, he knows that God is still in charge.
Habakkuk reminds us of David the sweet psalmist of Israel in Psalms 73:1-5 when he said, “Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.” After wandering around, confused, hurting and frustrated, David found a place of refuge. In Psalms 73:17-18 he continues, “So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.”
Then David concludes by saying, “Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”
David no doubt gives voice to some of our concerns and questions as we worry about the conditions of the world, the country and of our lives. David found his answer in the sanctuary of God, Habakkuk climbs up in his watchtower so he could see better. Let’s take a look at this narrative flow where Chapters 1-2 contain prayers of pain and chapter 3 is filled with praise. Here’s the main idea today: Prayers of lament can lead us to praise the Lord. Let’s learn how to do that. When Pain Keeps You from Praising.
First, Don’t be afraid to take your questions to God. Habakkuk is in a quagmire of questions as we see in 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? You cry out to God and all you hear is silence. When tragedy leaves you teetering, it’s not unspiritual to declare your questions to God. He’s big enough to handle your cries and your concerns, your fears and frustrations.
What do you do when you’re faced with an avalanche of agony and you feel like God is playing “hide and seek” with you? Perhaps you think Christians shouldn’t question God, and so you keep your concerns bottled up. Listen. It’s much better to ask God where He’s been than it is to wear your spiritual smiles and act like everything’s going well when you know it isn’t. It’s better to express it to the Almighty than it is to suppress it and live in agony. 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 2:4: “…But the righteous shall live by his faith.” This verse is quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38 to show God justifies men through faith alone, not through works. It’s always faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, because of the Scriptures alone, for the glory of God alone. God is saying, “Hold on to me Habakkuk, because I know what I’m doing.”
I love what Ruth Bell Graham use to say, “I lay my ‘whys’ before your cross in worship kneeling, my mind too numb for thought, my heart beyond all feeling. And in worshipping, realize that in knowing you, I don’t need a ‘why.’”
Trying to move from pain to praise, we must realize that our prayers of lament can lead us into the presence of God. In His presence there is fulness of joy and at his right hand there are pleasures evermore. Do you know it’s possible to praise even when you’re in pain? You can love God when you experience loss. In fact, the most authentic times of adoration are often when we feel the most awful. As we come to chapter 3, let’s learn from Habakkuk as he followed a process that moved him from pain to praise.
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 move rapidly like a rhythmic rhapsody. Do you feel like that today? Because we’re all struggling, let’s follow the prophet’s process and learn that prayers of lament can lead us to praise the Lord. Here’s what we need to do...
1. Reverence The Lord (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 confused, filled with grief, reverence God, gaze on the glory of God and see Him again as loving, full of majesty, mercy, power, person and actively working. Often God doesn’t answer our “when” and “why” questions because the answer is really who – God Himself. God sees what we are going through and because He is Lord of All and King of kings. He is sovereign so He can choose to act in His own time and in His own way, in accordance with His perfect plan and purpose for our world, our nation and our lives. Prayers of lament can lead us to reverence the Lord. The first step is to reverence God as our Sovereign Lord who is always near His people and working on their behalf.
2. Remember Our History With God. Recall what God Has done. 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. Verse 6 says His ways are eternal, which means He hasn’t changed, nor will He change. He is always involved; even when He seems inactive. When you’re not sure you can worship because of the pain, strive to revere God and then review what He has done. We also have history with God. This is not our first election nor our first trouble, sickness or difficulty. We have been here before when we could not see our way. Our God has a history of making a way somehow. With God, impossibilities become possible, hopelessness becomes hopeful, and fear is turned into faith. We, believers are the just and the Just shall live by faith. Reverence our God and forget not all of His benefits.
3. Rest in the Lord (16-17). The third step is to wait patiently. Verse 16: “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.” God has shown the prophet Israel disobedience and the suffering they must endure. Then God shows Habakkuk that Babylon will be His instrument of correction to chastise His people. Then God shows the judgment that will come on Babylon. Habakkuk is in awe. He’s not trembling from a lack of faith but is trembling at the mindboggling plan of God. Habakkuk decides to hide and watch. I’m reminded of the father who wanted his son healed when he said to Jesus in Mark 9, “I brought my son to your disciples, but they could not healed, if thou can do anything, have mercy of us and help us. Jesus said, If thou can believe, all things are possible. The father replied, in verse 24, “I believe; help my unbelief.” Habakkuk decided to hold his piece and rest in God’s timing, even though he didn’t understand what was happening. The phrase “wait quietly” means to rest patiently and silently. When you don’t understand what God is doing, wait on Him. Rest in Him instead of complaining or rebelling, hold your piece and rest in the Lord. If we want to move from pain to praise, we must reverence our sovereign Lord, Remember what God has done, Rest in Lord and finally consider the unlimited resources of God. Psalm 130:5: “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word, I put my hope.” Finally reflect on how God works and how God can use all circumstances to bring to pass His plan and purpose. Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
4. Reflect on How God works and how God uses Circumstances. It’s important to spend time reflecting because God often uses painful events like storms, wars, the economy, even elections to get our attention. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures; speaks in our conscience; but shouts in our pain. It’s His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Habakkuk imagines the horror of having no fruit or meat and an economy in free fall. These are the worst possible things he can imagine. What would he do if everything normal and predictable suddenly collapsed? Look at verse 17: “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.” The word “though” can mean, “when.” Figs were prized food and “fruit” represented their possessions while “olives” were the source of prosperity. Everything grown in the fields died. On top of that, their sheep and goats were far away and cut off and their cattle were no longer in their stalls. The word “fails” means to be disappointed. Someone has said we’re all living with layers of disappointment right now. Others have said, we are experiencing emotional fatigue. Yet Habakkuk moved beyond his disappointment, fatigue and fear to rejoicing. We should reverence our Sovereign Lord, Remember Our History With God. Recall what God Has done, Rest in the Lord and wait patiently on Him, Reflect on How God works and how God can use Circumstances to bring about His purpose, but don’t stop there. Rejoice in the God of our salvation.
5. Rejoice in the God of our Salvation. (18). 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.” I’m reminded of what Job said in Job 13:15: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” We may not always know what God is doing; but we can trust Him to do what is right. You might not feel like it, but your doubts can be transformed into shouts of joy. Notice he rejoices “in” the Lord and he “takes” joy “in” the God of his salvation. When I can’t rejoice in my situation, I can always rejoice in my salvation.
Habakkuk has made the choice to rejoice no matter what happened. Revere God and review what He’s done. Rest in Him, reflect on what’s happening and then make the choice to rejoice in Him. If you find that difficult, like I do at times, pray this prayer from Psalm 85:6: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” Last of all, rely on God for Strength. As our new normal keeps changing, it’s OK to lament our losses, but it’s not good to stay there. 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.”
Habakkuk holds on to the fact God is sovereign, which refers to His unlimited power and absolute control. God’s sovereignty should always have a strengthening impact on us. As one person put it: “If the Sovereign Lord is your strength, then your strength is more than sufficient.” God is not offering some vague sense of strength; instead He gives us the strength of Himself: “God the Lord, is my strength.” 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. The way to get out from under the load is to get under the Lord. We’re called to live by promises, not explanations. Or to say it another way: He is God and we are not.
In chapter one Habakkuk was low. In chapter two he climbs up to the watchtower to wait for God’s answer. And in chapter three he is walking on the heights. He has steadily progressed on an upward arc toward God, going from disappointment to doxology, from gloom to glory. Are you ready to move from pain to praise? Then get ready to revere, to review, to reflect, to rest, to rejoice and to rely.
Here are a couple implications from what we’ve learned today. First, don’t waste your present circumstances. Someone I talked to recently said the situation we’re in is a “Defining moment in our lives and history.” Use this time to know God better, to show His witness to the world and to share the love of God with others.
Then, make your praise personal. Verse 18 says, “I will rejoice…I will take joy.” Have you engaged your will to worship Him? Do you have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ? In order to handle your problems, you must first let Jesus handle you.
Invitation If you’re ready to know Jesus the right way, please close your eyes and pray this prayer with me. God, I admit I’m a sinner and I’m ready to repent from how I’ve been living. Thank you for sending Your son Jesus to die on the cross as my Savior and my Substitute. I believe He paid the price for all my sins by shedding His blood and by rising from the dead on the third day. I want to be saved so now by faith I believe and as an act of my will I receive You into my life. I want to be born again and have all my sins forgiven. I surrender fully to You as my Savior and Lord, my forgiver and my leader. Grow within me a deep desire to know You and show You to others. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Closing Prayer - As we struggle with how to pray, let’s allow the Scriptures to express our intercession by closing with a prayer directly from selected verses from the Book of Habakkuk. This prayer of lament can lead us to praise the Lord.
“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of your glory as the waters cover the sea...Enable me to be one of the righteous who live by faith…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...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 You, my LORD; I will take joy in You, the God of my salvation. GOD, you are the Lord, my strength; You make my feet like the deer’s; You makes me tread on high places.” Amen.
May the Lord bless you until we meet again.
Habakkuk is now ready to hear God’s answer even though he’s not going to like what He has to say. We can learn from this same process. If you have questions and complaints, don’t stop there. Express them and then turn again to the Lord.
