Scripture
Last week I began a short sermon series on the book of Habakkuk, which I have titled, “Making Sense of Today’s News.” Most of the material for this sermon series comes from Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ series on Habakkuk, which he preached at the beginning of World War II.
Habakkuk is a profound book, one that delves deeply into the mysteries of God. Habakkuk raises deep questions about the actions of God in today’s news—why God does what he does, why he does it in the way he does, and why he sometimes does nothing.
Habakkuk is also profound because of the answers God gives. God says that although the righteous may not understand everything he is doing in today’s news, they nevertheless should live by faith in him (2:4).
The prophet Habakkuk had a problem. He had lived through a period of national revival followed by a period of spiritual decline. The Babylonian Empire was rising. They had captured Nineveh in 612 BC and they were later to capture Jerusalem in 587 BC. King Josiah, who had been responsible for the spiritual revival of the nation, died in 609 BC, and after his death the nation’s spiritual decline was remarkably fast. Habakkuk wrote this book after Josiah died and probably some time before 600 BC.
When Habakkuk cried out to God about the spiritual decline of his nation, at first God was silent. God appeared to be doing nothing. But then, when God did reply, he said that he was sending the Babylonians to be an agent of judgment against his people. This was not what Habakkuk expected, nor wanted. Habakkuk wanted God to change the spiritual attitude of his people by simply sending a revival. But instead of sending a revival, God was using a foreign, ungodly nation—the Babylonians—to bring his judgment against his people.
With that in mind, let us read Habakkuk 1:12-17, focusing especially on verses 12-13, our text for today:
12 O LORD, are you not from everlasting?
My God, my Holy One, we will not die.
O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment;
O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrong.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made men like fish in the sea,
like sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
and burns incense to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
destroying nations without mercy? (Habakkuk 1:12-17)
Introduction
Habakkuk faced serious problems in his life. He was wrestling with the spiritual decline of the nation. But as he learned about God’s response, Habakkuk had a further problem of reconciling God’s actions with what he knew about God’s attributes.
This is similar to the situation today. We live in a state of spiritual declension not only in the nation but particularly in the Church. And with the increase of terrorist attacks as well as wars, it is not uncommon for people to ask many questions: “Where was God when terrorist attacks and wars and disasters happen? Why does God allow it to happen? Why does God not stop it?”
When we face problems in our lives—whether they are national or personal—it is very important that we follow a proper procedure in dealing with them. It is much more important that we should know the proper procedure for dealing with these problems than that we should have simplistic and clichéd answers to particular problems.
People want clear answers to specific problems, but the Bible does not always give us what we desire in this respect. It does, however, teach us a proper procedure. We are apt to panic and jump to wrong conclusions when the unexpected happens, and when God is dealing with us in a strange and unusual manner.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones suggested that there are four steps in a proper procedure to help us know how to deal with our problems. Let me give them to you briefly. By the way, today I am going to tell you what I am going to say, then I am going to say it, and then I am going to tell you what I said.
My proposition for today’s message is this: When dealing with problems, we must pray (i.e., P-R-A-Y).
First, pause to think. Most of us have a tendency to talk first and think afterwards, if we think at all. But James tells us, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1:19). When we speak first, we often muddle ourselves by talking nonsense. But, when we first pause to think, we begin to sort things out and allow the light of God’s Word to shine in on our specific problem.
Second, restate basic principles. When we pause to think we must not begin with our immediate problem. Begin further back. Such an approach is vital importance in our spiritual lives. This is the principal of finding sound footing.
Were you ever on a sidewalk in the winter when the snow was cleared off but there were still treacherous icy spots? On the route I used to run in Pennsylvania there was one particularly difficult stretch. I would run very carefully, looking for the safest spot to place my feet to make sure that I was on safe ground.
Well, you must do the same thing spiritually. Your problem is a slippery spot, but not all of your knowledge of God is like that. Get onto the parts that are firm. Remind yourself of the things you know. Then you will find that the problem begins to fall into proper perspective and principles for solving it start to emerge.
Third, apply the principles to the problem. Problems are capable of solution only if they are put into the right context. The way to interpret a difficult text of Scripture is to consider its context. We often mistake the meaning of a phrase or verse because we take it out of its context. But when you put your problem text into its context, the context will often help to interpret the text for you. The same is also true of the particular problem that is causing you concern.
And fourth, yield the problem to God in faith, if still in doubt. This is the most important point of all. Suppose you have paused to think. Suppose you have restated basic principles. Suppose you have tried to apply these principles to the specific problem that is confronting you. What should you do if you are still as puzzled as you were at the beginning? Should you give up? Should you give up your faith?
Not at all! At this point you must yield the matter to God. In other words, you must say, “Lord, I have done everything I know to do with this problem. I have faced it on the basis of everything I know, and I still don’t understand it. From here on it’s your problem, not mine anymore.” That is what God wants you to do. He wants to make your problems his problems, because he knows that then you will grow in faith, and your knowledge of him will deepen. In time God will give you an appropriate answer to the problem you are facing. We shall see how to do this next week.
Meanwhile, here are today’s four points—P-R-A-Y:
1. Pause to think,
2. Restate basic principles,
3. Apply the principles to the problem, and
4. Yield the problem to God in faith, if still in doubt.
That is the biblical method of dealing with problems.
Lesson
Having pointed out the proper procedure we should adopt when dealing with our personal or national problems, I want to show you now that this is precisely what Habakkuk did when confronted by the Lord’s announcement of a Babylonian invasion. Furthermore, this is exactly what we must do when dealing with problems that face us. When dealing with problems, we must pray.
I. Pause to Think
First, pause to think.
Habakkuk did not write much but he was a great thinker. He wrestled through his problems and thought about them deeply before writing anything. We know this because of what he has written down.
It is imperative that we pause to think about what is happening from a Biblical perspective. So many voices are speaking—and much of it is nonsense from a non-Biblical perspective. People are saying and thinking all kinds of things that are completely inconsistent with the teaching of God’s Word.
Let me ask you this question: Have you gone to the Word of God this week to seek understanding from a Biblical perspective about what God is doing in this world? Do you go to the Word of God when you face a difficult problem in your life? Or have you just listened to whomever and agreed with whatever you have heard about the problem?
The first thing to do when facing problems is: pause to think.
II. Restate Basic Principles
Second, restate basic principles.
Habakkuk reminded himself of basic principles. What are they? As we read Habakkuk 1:12-13 we find that they are the most basic of all theological principles, namely, the attributes of God. There may be other principles to restate for different problems but Habakkuk affirmed four basic principles here, which have to do with the attributes of God.
First, God is eternal. Habakkuk began with the statement, “O LORD, are you not from everlasting?” (1:12a).
We can imagine his line of thinking. In verses 10b-11 God had been talking about the Babylonians he was going to send to invade the land, and he had said, “They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—guilty men, whose own strength is their god.”
Habakkuk must have reflected on the nature of this “god” of the Babylonians. He must have asked himself, “Who is this ‘god’ anyway? Why, the ‘god’ of the Babylonians is only an idol. He is nothing at all. He is even less of a reality than the Babylonians.”
Then he must have compared the ‘god’ of the Babylonians to the God of Israel, Jehovah, who is an “everlasting” God. He must have reminded himself that Jehovah was before anything came into existence and would be long after Babylon faded away. Even if Habakkuk could not understand all that God did, he would have found comfort in knowing that he served the everlasting and only true God.
We must remind ourselves of this principle too: God is eternal. God has no beginning and no ending. He is everlasting. That means that he is the only true God. And specifically that means that all other gods are false.
Let me remind of what I said last week: The key to understanding today’s news is the kingdom of God. God is building his kingdom here on earth. God is not building America or Afghanistan or Iraq. Throughout Scripture the story of the nations is relevant only as it bears upon the kingdom of God.
There are not many equally valid gods and equally valid religions and equally valid ways to God. There is the eternal God and there is Satan. There is the kingdom of God and there is the kingdom of Satan. There is light and there is darkness.
And when problems face you, remind yourself that God is eternal. He is the true God. He is building his kingdom. And the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.
Second, God is holy. Habakkuk’s second sentence referred to God’s holiness: “My God, my Holy One” (1:12b).
This is the most important attribute of God. In the Bible it is the attribute stressed more often than any other attribute. We do not find the Bible speaking of God’s “sovereign name,” “loving name,” or “wise name,” but again and again God reminds us of his “holy name.” It is the only attribute repeated three times, once in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).
Habakkuk further stated of God in verse 13: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.” God cannot look on evil without hating it. He detests it. God and evil are eternal opposites. He is so holy that he cannot tolerate wrong.
This attribute of God is important for Habakkuk’s problem. Reflecting on this basic principle caused Habakkuk to say in effect, “I don’t understand what God is doing but I know that a holy God can never do anything unrighteous. He never makes mistakes.”
We must remind ourselves of this too. When problems arise we must remind ourselves that God is holy. God hates sin. His eyes are too pure to look on evil. God cannot tolerate wrong. He is not the author of evil.
Third, God is sovereign. Habakkuk wrote, “O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish” (1:12c).
God controls history. The Babylonians did not simply rise up on their own. God raised them up. Moreover, God was raising them up when he wanted, to operate in the precise geographical sphere he wanted, and to do exactly what he wanted.
The impression I get from some today is that God has nothing to do with the problems that come our way. The impression I have is that God is impotent to do anything about the evil that confronts us. While it is true that God is not the author of evil and sin, he is always in sovereign control over his creation. He is always in sovereign control over every single item in today’s news.
Listen, if God was not sovereign, he would not be God. He is in sovereign control over today’s news, and we must affirm this basic principle when facing problems.
Eileen and I got married on December 14, 1985, about six months before I graduated from seminary. That was during the height of apartheid in South Africa. At that time our plan was to go and serve in South Africa upon my graduation. Many friends urged us—and especially Eileen—not to go to South Africa. I remember sharing these words with them, “There is no safer place than the center of God’s will.” Because I believe that God is sovereign, I knew that I could trust him in any and every situation.
And fourth, God is faithful. Habakkuk expressed it by saying that God is a place of security for his people. Habakkuk called God his “Rock” (1:12c).
A rock provides firm footing. It is a foundation on which a person can build a secure dwelling. It is often a fortress to which a soldier can run and be safe.
God is faithful to his kingdom. God is faithful to his promises. God is faithful to his Word. God will never not be faithful. And that is a great comfort to us when dealing with problems.
Several years ago, while serving as pastor of the Oakwood Presbyterian Church in State College, a young forty-eight year-old man named Don Streit died in the prime of life leaving behind a wife and eight young children. After the funeral, Susie, Don’s wife, wrote to thank me for our church’s role in the visitation, funeral and meal. She closed her note by saying, “Thank you for your prayers. God is upholding us and blessing us through the comfort of his people. I cannot imagine living through this without the Lord and his promises. I will see Don again!”
Susie was reminding herself of a basic principle that was her strength as she dealt with the reality of life after the death of her husband Don: God is faithful. And we too must cling to that basic principle as well.
Habakkuk reminded himself of these great attributes of God.
So, then, first pause to think. Then, restate basic principles.
III. Apply the Principles to the Problem
Next, apply the principles to the problem.
Habakkuk took the third step and applied these basic principles to his problem. And this is what he said to himself: “O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish” (1:12).
He reached his answer to the Babylonian invasion by reasoning like this: “God must be raising up the Babylonians for his people’s benefit. Of this I can be absolutely sure. It is not that the Babylonians have taken the law into their own hands. It is not that God is incapable of restraining them. These things are impossible in view of my basic principles. God is just using the Babylonians for his own purposes, that is, for the judgment and punishment of his people. And he is carrying out those purposes. I do not understand it fully, but I am quite sure that we are not going to be exterminated. This will not be the end of the story for God’s people, although from God’s description, there is apparently going to be a severe chastisement of his people. But a remnant will remain, because the eternal, holy, sovereign, faithful God is still God, and he is using the Babylonians to do something within the purpose of his kingdom. God is using all of this for his own grand purposes.”
Friends, we must do the same. We must apply the principles of all that we know about God and his Word to our particular problem, whatever that may be.
IV. Yield the Problem to God in Faith, If Still in Doubt
Finally, yield the problem to God in faith, if still in doubt.
There was one part of the problem that Habakkuk still did not understand, and this was the part he yielded to God in faith.
Habakkuk knew that God is eternal, holy, sovereign, and faithful. But he still did not understand why God used the wicked Babylonians as his instruments of judgment. He said in verse 13b: “Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”
At this point God did not give Habakkuk an answer. And so the prophet simply took the problem to God and left it with him in humble submission to his Creator and Redeemer.
That is often our experience as well. You follow the procedure that I have outlined but there is no immediate answer. What do you do in such a case? Certainly you must not rush to conclusions and say things like, “Because I do not understand what God is doing, God must not be eternal or holy or sovereign or faithful or whatever.” No! If you are still in doubt and do not understand what God is doing after applying the procedure I have outlined above, then simply take the problem to God and leave it with him. I shall say more about how to do this next week. But let me simply say today that you will make a mistake if you say to yourself and other people, “I don’t understand what God is doing. It doesn’t seem right. It seems so unjust of God. It seems so unfair.”
You and I must do what the prophet did: Yield the problem to God and leave it with him.
Conclusion
I would suggest that if you follow the procedure I have outlined today, you will find a much better way of dealing with your problems. So, remember, when dealing with problems, pray.
First, pause to think. Second, restate basic principles. Third, apply the principles to the problem. And finally, yield the problem to God in faith, if still in doubt. Amen.
