From Fear to Faith
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Trusting God Puts our Anxiety to Rest
Trusting God Puts our Anxiety to Rest
A Quick Recap:
Habakkuk complains to God “How Long?”
God’s Answer: I am going to punish the evil of my chosen people. I am sending the Chaldeans to wreak havoc in order to deal with Israel’s sin
Habakkuk’s second complaint: The Chaldeans are so evil, how can they be your instrument of destruction on your people? They are even eviler than us
God’s answer: But my wrath will also come on them. Your punishment is in order to turn you back to me. The punishment of the Chaldeans will be to vindicate my holiness and righteousness. The Chaldean’s soul is puffed up and not upright, but the righteous shall live by his faith
Now, Habakkuk’s response: The text says a prayer. It is like a Psalm, a song, meant to be set to music. “according to the shigionoth” This term is only found in Psalm 7 in the Bible. It is likely a musical term, perhaps it is the melody the song would be sung to. The prayer or psalm of Habakkuk is followed by a final instruction, it is to the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
This Psalm may remind you of Miriam’s Song, after the Egyptians were destroyed in the Red Sea. Or maybe it reminds you of one of David’s Psalms, where he appealed to God to save him from enemies, and then declared his complete trust that God would deliver him. Parts of it remind us of Job, who declared that even if God slayed him, he would still trust in God.
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
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.
God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed at his heels.
He stood and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the eternal mountains were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were the everlasting ways.
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
or your indignation against the sea,
when you rode on your horses,
on your chariot of salvation?
You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows. Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
the deep gave forth its voice;
it lifted its hands on high.
The sun and moon stood still in their place
at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
You marched through the earth in fury;
you threshed the nations in anger.
You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah
You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
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.
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 the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Trusting God Puts our Anxiety to Rest
Trusting God Puts our Anxiety to Rest
So we have talked about it for a few weeks now. We sympathized with Habakkuk, we realized his complain is something relevant to our world today. Where is punishment for sin? How can God allow people to continue the way they are? And then, why does God allow his own people to be tormented by evil unbelievers? Where is the justice? Where is the reign of righteousness God has promised?
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 bouyed 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)
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
The Sovereign Lord gives triumph over circumstances to those who trust Him. The way to get out from under the load is to get right under 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.
Most Christians are familiar with the phrase, “the just (or righteous) shall live by his faith”, although most do not connect it with Habakkuk. As we learned a couple weeks ago, the phrase, used by Paul in two of his letters, and used by the writer to the Hebrews, is a quote from this prophet. And really it is the answer to everything. How can we understand what God is allowing or not allowing to happen in the world? If the wisdom of men is foolishness to God, how will we ever understand it? If our logic chip looks at the world and says it doesn’t compute, how do the wicked get by with their wickedness?, then how will we ever feel safe, or secure, or at peace? There is only one way: through faith.
You see, in the end, we need to trust God. We need to trust that what we can’t make sense of, he has in perfect control. He knows exactly what he is doing. He knows the end result of it. He is orchestrating events for his ultimate glory. And we can question God like Habakkuk, or like Job, and we can cry out to him, “why?” or “how long?”, but like those men, in the end, we must simply settle on one thing: Putting our trust and our faith in the God who knows.
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those who are on high?
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
If you were to do a googles search of bible verses about the God who knows, you could spend all day and then some studying them. God knows whats going on, he knows what has already happening, He knows what will happen, and He chooses what part of that knowledge we need. And the reality is, he hasn’t given us all of knowledge. He keeps back for himself some of his secrets. We don’t have secrets from God, he knows out every secret. But He has secrets from us. He has every right, no matter what we might demand, no matter how much we insist on answers to these questions we have, but He has revealed enough to help us put our faith in him. What he reveals to us is ours to know, ours to study, ours to contemplate, ours to encourage one another with, but the secret things belong to him. He is the creator and we are the creatures. The creator is not compelled to explain himself to the creatures.
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
So instead of focusing so heavily on what we are not given, we must focus instead heavily on what we are given. God’s Word contains all we need. So Habakkuk begins this prayer or psalm to stand back, after all his complaints, and after he has consider the answer of the Lord, now he realizes he must rest in his faith. How can we be righteous? The righteous one lives by his faith. So Habakkuk realizes that to be righteous he must live by his faith. And so we also, if we desire to be righteous, must live by our faith as well.
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.
What report has Habakkuk heard? Well, he knows the history of God’s interactions with Israel, and in fact, he is going to recount some of them. And just as we in the church often remember what is recorded in the gospels and in the acts, we hope for the same to happen to us. “Do it again, Lord!”. Do it here, in our church, do it here in my heart!
And so Habakkuk has a desire to see God do mighty acts like he did for the people of Israel in times past.
I’ve heard the report of you and your work; revive it, make it known, and when your wrath must be satisfied, remember mercy!
God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His splendor covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
Here Habakkuk recalls some of God’s deeds. I won’t get into these right now, but you may see in your footnotes or in a cross reference this refers to 1Chr1.45 and Deut33.2
He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us;
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire at his right hand.
This is from Moses recalling the works of God for Israel
His brightness was like the light;
rays flashed from his hand;
and there he veiled his power.
We all began when we were children and trying to do our art, and some of us were better at this than others, but how would we draw the sun? A circle with little lines coming out, or little triangles. What does this represent? The radiance of the Sun. Rays flashed from his hand. And there he veiled his power. Now, we don’t worship the Sun, but some people do. Think about this. The Sun is absolutely necessary to our physical life. If we did not receive its warmth, we would not live. If our plants did not receive its rays, we would have no food. The Sun is absolutely necessary for our life. And yet, the Sun is terrible. It is massive. Maybe you have seen a visual depiction of the earth’s size in comparison to that ball of fire we call the sun. The Sun could entirely consume the earth. At the same time, the Sun is necessary to us, and unapproachable by us.
So it is with the holiness of God. Because of his holiness we can trust him in what he says, we have faith he will see it through. And yet, if we, as fallen people, as people born into sin, were to approach this holiness we would be consumed. This why Isaiah had fear when he witnessed the presence of God:
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
This is why a man who touched the ark of God was instantly killed. It is why Aaron’s sons were instantly killed when they dared to attempt worship of God in a way other than the way he prescribed. And this is why, against God’s holiness, no man or woman, or child for that matter, would ever be able to stand before him. Certainly not in any righteousness that we possess. But the righteous one shall live by his faith. Our righteousness, if we are in Christ, that allows us to not only survive but ultimately thrive in light of God’s holiness, is not a righteousness of our own, thank God! But the one who puts faith in Jesus is clothed in his righteousness.
Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed at his heels.
Here Habakkuk recalls the plagues God sent on Egypt.
He stood and measured the earth;
he looked and shook the nations;
then the eternal mountains were scattered;
the everlasting hills sank low.
His were the everlasting ways.
He is the creator, he is everlasting
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord?
Was your anger against the rivers,
or your indignation against the sea,
when you rode on your horses,
on your chariot of salvation?
You stripped the sheath from your bow,
calling for many arrows. Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
God has delivered in many ways. Here Habakkuk recalls the miracles of God to save his people by stopping rivers, but separating the waters of the sea. Was God’s wrath against the waters? No, they only do whatever he creates them to do and commands them to do.
The mountains saw you and writhed;
the raging waters swept on;
the deep gave forth its voice;
it lifted its hands on high.
The sun and moon stood still in their place
at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
You marched through the earth in fury;
you threshed the nations in anger.
You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah
You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors,
who came like a whirlwind to scatter me,
rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
You trampled the sea with your horses,
the surging of mighty waters.
The prophet is speaking here of the power of God, his strength. And since He is God over all nature, as the all powerful creator, it really is not a difficult thing for him to use this nature as one of his means of salvation for his people.
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.
All of this reminds Habakkuk that his fear should not be in the sin of Israel, or the Chaldean’s, but in God’s awesome power. Thinking of this makes his body tremble, his lips quiver, his legs tremble. If we have a sense of God, we will be the same. Who can stand before Him? And yet, Habakkuk returns to his faith. I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. If you have been mistreated, if you have suffered because of someone else’s cruelty, if you know what it means to carry emotional scars from someone more wicked than yourself, will you hold on to the grudge? Will you try to get your revenge? Or will you wait quietly for the Lord to bring justice in his time?
Finally, Habakkuk says he will rejoice in the Lord, no matter what happens:
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 the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Does this remind you of Job?
Though he slay me, I will hope in him;
yet I will argue my ways to his face.
How did Habakkuk have this confidence? He based his faith basically on two things. The historical proof of God’s past involvement with his people, particularly in saving them, and in his trust in God’s promise.
How about Job? He lost his livelihood, his children, his health, and yet he said, “though he slay me, I will hope in him” Job had this confidence because of his faith:
“Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
It’s the same reason that David could sing blessings to God: Ps103.1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
And so Mary as well, in the Magnificat, Luke1.46-47
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
And as we enter this holiday season, let’s commit together to be a people of praise and hope, of faith over fear. Let us not lose sight of the eternal promise of God because our sights are focused on the problems in our world now. I urge you, during this holiday season, to commit to focusing on God’s goodness. You will want to be at church during this season. The holidays are a special time and you need to spend part of your time with God’s people. And resist the urge to hold onto anger or vengeance. Instead, trust that the God who know, also sees, also hears, and also will always act in accordance with his justice, his righteousness, his holiness, his goodness, his love...
How to get along in the church, how to survive the world, is found in Phil4.4-8
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
So let us now be a people committed to live out this life of faith, with confidence of Habakkuk, of Job, of David, of Paul, who, in spite of their sometimes being confused and frustrated by the timing of God, in the end, put total faith and trust in him. Next week begins a sermon series for the advent season, and you won’t want to miss being in church. We will be celebrating together. This all leads up to what is going to be a very special Christmas Eve service. This will even begin today, as together we brighten up the church with our holiday decorations. Please stay and enjoy the family of God together.
Hopefully we all have a little better appreciation for Habakkuk. When we look closely at the Bible, we find that people really are not that much different today. We have the same bent towards sin, the same need for God, the righteous continue to ask God “How Long?” and “Why?” And the answer returns the same to us: The Righteous shall live by his faith. My prayer for us is that our faith would be so strong that it would triumph over the fears in our lives.
What are your fears? Financial, safety, loneliness, health… Tell God about your fears, let him know your concerns, and be reminded of the promises of God, and you can, just as Habakkuk did, turn your fears into faith.