It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times

Take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Habakkuk. Book of Habakkuk. We finish this minor prophet today. Before we look into the word, let's ask for God's help. The Lord God, we come to you as Father through the Lord Jesus, knowing that you delight in your children, and that you care for us, and you give us direction by your word. Would you help us today to gain that direction as we look into the final words of this prophet?

Truly speak to us today and help us that we might express the fruits of faith as we find here in this text. Remind us again, these are not just words on a page, but the very words of God as you express your mind to us. help us now to listen carefully and to change as a result. In Jesus' name, amen. Everything you hold dear, everything with which you are familiar, will be gone soon. the rhythm of life work and school coming home each night laughter around the table swept away and gone forever your house in ashes as well as your neighbors relationships cultivated over years your sons and daughters grandkids friends no longer exist for some of them lie dead while others have been hauled away to a foreign land never to be seen by you again.

Instead of the dinner table groaning with an abundance of food, you now spend the day scratching the dirt trying to find some kind of sustenance. The prosperous, well-ordered, comfortable life you've enjoyed has forever disappeared in an orgy of violence and bloodshed. How would you respond to that sudden change? Would your faith in God make any difference at all?

Would your reaction to the horror just described be any different than your unbelieving neighbor standing in the ashes of his house next door? What difference would your faith make? We find the answer to that question in the concluding verses of Habakkuk. The Babylonians are about to fall upon the people of God with untold ferocity. And Habakkuk gives us a glimpse into his soul in the light of this impending destruction.

And here you find how men and women of faith should face hardship. The just shall live by faith, Habakkuk had said. well how do they live in the midst of disaster? We've seen the conversation that has occurred in this book. You recall this is a book of conversations between the prophet and God. You remember that it started out with Habakkuk crying out to God about the injustice and the violence in his land and saying God will you turn a blind eye to this?

Will you not bring justice into our land? and you remember what God's reply was I will bring justice I'm going to bring judgment in the form of the Babylonians and you remember Habakkuk then went to God and said how can you do that that's those people are more wicked than the ones you're you're chastising what what are you doing and you remember he said I'm going to go to the watchtower and I'm going to wait for an answer and then God replied and he said look I am a God of justice I am a God of righteousness and I will use the Babylonians, but keep this in mind. I will also judge the Babylonians for what they do and what they are like. And then you remember in chapter three, as we began, Habakkuk recalled the mighty acts of God in the past, as it's expressed in the Exodus and deliverance from Egypt and all that had happened there to recall to his mind that God is mighty in his acts.

And then God responds with a vision of this great God of wrath and judgment who rains down destruction and judgment on evildoers, but in that judgment rescues his own people. He brings judgment and salvation. Now with all the pieces in place, how's Habakkuk going to respond? With the big picture now that God has provided, how will he respond? We find his words in chapter 3, verses 16 through 19.

I hear and my body trembles, my lips quiver at the sound, rottenness enters 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 beyond 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, on my high places.

How you live in the light of difficulties, even tragedy, Habakkuk faces the utter destruction of all that is comfortable, all that he knows, all that is familiar. What are you facing? What are you facing right now? And how should you approach them with faith? What's that going to look like? Here's one.

Your faith will produce patience. Verse 16. Here's what he says. 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 the trouble to come upon people who invade us. Your faith will produce patience. Now look, it's not, if you will, a pristine, perfect patience. You need to understand that your faith does not necessarily eliminate your weaknesses. He has heard all that.

Habakkuk has seen the wickedness of his own people. He has heard of the judgment that will come at the hands of the Babylonians. God has revealed the power and might of his wrath and his salvation. And in light of all that, Habakkuk is shaken. He shakes. His heart pounds with astonishment and fear.

He is torn with spasms, overpowered with feelings of dismay and foreboding. His lips quiver with the chattering of his teeth. His bones seem rotten, so much so that his legs start to tremble. He's on the verge of collapse. And we might say, Habakkuk, why are you so weak? You've got the big picture now.

God's explained it all to you. Why this response? Well, Habakkuk is honest enough to tell us that when he heard what God had to tell him, he trembled like a leaf. A full understanding of God's purposes does not eliminate weakness. To tremble does not necessarily mean that you have no faith. And yet, how is it that in your weakness, how is it that even in your weakness, you're not driven to despair, so overcome with fear that you do nothing but tremble and moan?

How is it that you can tremble but not despair? how is it you can tremble and not just descend into darkness could it be resignation well there's no use in crying about spilled milk what can you do can't do anything about it anyway could it be escape just don't think about it watch a movie read a book do something just just don't think about it could it be courage hey man it's time to man up you won't find me whimpering or crying in the face of all the whole thing it's time to be a man no for Habakkuk this patience is born of faith a belief in the mighty God who's revealed himself in his deeds that's what he says at the end of verse 16 right yet i will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon the people who invade us habakkuk teaches us to live by faith in the god revealed in the scripture and in his mighty deeds he has a past does he not you believe in the lord who's revealed himself through his mighty deliverances that he's accomplished in the past. We have a whole history of God working right before us. We have a historical record, century after century after century, of God doing mighty things.

He has a past. You have the promise. God will bring justice. God will deliver his people through his mighty future redemption. He will bring justice on those who hate God's people. You believe that what God has done in the past is true about him and you believe his promises about deliverance that will come in the future.

You believe that's why you don't collapse into despair and descend into darkness. You believe what God has said about himself. You believe his promises of what he will yet do. Can you be patient in the midst of adversity this day? You have the past. Look at the mighty work that God did in Jesus when he was crucified and when he arose from the dead, overturning the verdict of all those who stood against him.

And then, but last of all, overcoming death, not just for him, but for us. Look at the mighty deeds that God did in the past with Jesus. Look at his promises since Jesus is alive today he rules and he rules for your good and he will come again to deliver his people do you believe that do you believe that about God like Habakkuk we must be different than the world no matter what your adversity hardship or trial you can be patient as you believe the history of God and the promises of God.

Now we come to this radical statement of faith. I don't know if you see just how unbelievably radical the words are displayed before us. Your faith will produce joy. Look at what he says. though the fig tree should not blossom nor fruit beyond 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.

Wow! calamity and doom loom on the horizon. There will be no figs. No figs. No juicy red, no fruit. No juicy red apples for you. No bananas.

No nothing. It's all gone. There'll be no wine. He calls it fruit on the vine. None of the finer things of life. All gone.

There'll be no oil for cooking or baking. That's the olive crop failing. No oil. No oil to fry your potatoes. No oil to pop your popcorn. Nothing.

It's all gone. There'll be no produce. Nothing in the fields. No healthy vegetables or grain or flour. No tomatoes, corn, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, cabbage, onions. All of it gone.

Trampled under the foot of invading armies or carried off by them. There'll be no meat. All the cattle, all the sheep are gone. All the grain for feeding is gone for them, and the rest are carried off by the marauders. Habakkuk says, I see that we will be reduced to near starvation, reduced to scratching in the dirt, and combing through the garbage to find something to eat.

That is what he describes here. This is what's coming. and yet what does he say what does he say yet I will rejoice in the Lord I don't know about you those words absolutely blow me away we're going to starve yet I will rejoice in the Lord. You can rejoice in these circumstances in God himself. Joy springs from a close relationship with God and a personal knowledge of and faith in his word.

You can still rejoice because you can find joy in God. In the midst of nothing, God gives himself to you. Have you ever thought this thought? God gives himself to you for you to enjoy him. You may have nothing, but God gives himself to you to enjoy. Have you ever thought of God that way?

That's the ultimate goal of our salvation, to enjoy God. And that's what he wants us to do. Do you remember those early days of marriage, I think about our early days when, you know, we had to really, we had to really watch our budget just to buy food. I remember I got in trouble one time because I spent, I spent some money on some razors. It was that tight.

No, no money. Two chairs in the apartment. that was it do you remember those days when you scarcely had enough money for food you had no furniture in that sparse apartment the car you had was a wreck that barely ran did you turn to your lovely bride and say all I got is you right? is that what you would have done? no you remember those days she was enough it doesn't matter I could go without food I got her you see and that's what he's saying here God is the source of inexhaustible joy you may have nothing but you have him I remember my darkest days period of my life it was hard there were tears There was sorrow. There was even grief.

There were regrets. But you know what? During those days, there was something steadfast deep down. I got to know God in a way I'd never known him before and there was a there was a confidence and a joy that was what? supernatural that's what he's talking about here is God enough for you? is God enough? If you're bitter because your wife is not the woman you expected her to be, then God is not enough.

If you're eaten up with anger because someone has done something evil to you, then God is not enough. If your job colors your whole day with hopelessness, so that the only thing you live for is getting out of work at the end of the day. And God is not enough. Maybe you facing difficult physical things Maybe even things that may prove fatal Can I say to you if you are eaten up with fear God is not enough If life is miserable and gloomy, then God is not enough.

That's what Habakkuk is telling us here. Did you hear the words of Psalm 73, the testimony of Asaph, when he looked around and he saw everyone around him, evildoers prospering while he who serves God is left in the dust and doesn't have anything. Do you remember what he said near the end of that psalm? Whom have I in heaven but you? And note, and earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Oh, let those words sink in. And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my treasure forever. Notice he says he rejoices in the God of his salvation. you can rejoice in the God who is for you. Do you think of God that way? God in every bit of His being, in all of His attributes, is for you.

Is for you. He's not against you. If you have entrusted yourself to Jesus, everything about God has now been harnessed for you. He's not against you in any particle of your life. He is for you in every way. Habakkuk's joy does not come from victories over the Babylonians, not in outward comforts and prosperity and blessings, but in the person and the promise of the Savior.

God is for you in Jesus. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, How will he not also along with him give us all that we need? When your life collapses, can you still find joy? Yes. Yes, you can. In God.

It is faith that produces such joy. joy. Do you believe that God, do you believe that God has given himself for you? Do you believe that? Do you believe that he is for you and never against you? Do you believe that? Lastly, he says your faith will produce strength.

Verse 19, God or here Yahweh the Lord the ruler is my strength he makes my feet like the deers he makes me tread on my high places Habakkuk compares himself to a mountain goat as he runs along the heights and the crags of the mountains he is strong and he is sure-footed you have you ever seen all of us here have seen these nature documentaries right you know I always wonder how to get the cameras there to watch these animals. But nevertheless, we see these animal documentaries. Do you ever see one about the mountain goats?

Have you ever seen a mountain goat going along and all of a sudden, whoop, over the edge of the ghost? You've never seen that happen. It doesn't happen, right? And this is what he's saying. He's saying simply, God's made me like a mountain goat. With all this horror going on, I come what may.

I will not despair. I will not get angry or bitter. I will not try to manipulate the situation to gain relief nor give up because he's strong. God has made him strong with this kind of faith and the God described here. He has made strong. How can you gain such strength?

Simply by faith in the person and the promises of God. You know what? You go through seminary and you go through classes at church and Sunday school and we talk about the attributes of God at times. We talk about His omniscience, His omnipotence. We talk about His power. I just mentioned that.

His mercy, His grace, all of those things. The fact that He's immutable or unchangeable, All of those mighty things that we talk about as we describe God. Do you believe he's really like that? Right? You know, this week I was driving somewhere and I was driving somewhere and I thought, I'm facing this difficulty. This is not going to be, this is going to be hard.

And I took my phone and I said, you know what? I talk about this. Why don't I do it? do I believe do I believe that God is who he says he is and I turn my phone to Isaiah 40 which is one of the most magnificent descriptions of God in all of scripture if you're not familiar with it read it this afternoon Isaiah 40 and I played it as I heard about a God who sits above the circle of the earth and he looks at humans as grasshoppers.

And I'm thinking, wow, the things I face, the difficulties and the people that, you know, I have to minister to, and sometimes it's not pleasant in the great scheme of things. And from God's perspective, we're grasshoppers. Why should I be afraid of a grasshopper? right and this is the god who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth i remember isaiah 51 why are you afraid of man he's but a blade of grass he's but a blade of grass why would you be afraid think about god believe his promises you ever been afraid when you went out to mow the lawn been terrified to go out and mow the lawn man's but a blade of grass why am i I'm so afraid.

Right? Those are the things. You've got to believe that God is who he says he is. And then you have to believe the promises of God. What are his promises? Well, the biggie, to me, the overarching one that helps me is God's for you.

He only means good for you. I don't see what the good is, but he says he's going to do it. There's that. Right? All the promises of God. you get that strength by faith in the promises and person of God. Like the Apostle Paul we can say, Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day, for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all So we fix our eye not on what is seen but on what is unseen For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Strength comes from a faith that sees beyond the realities of a fallen world and looks to the realities of an eternal world. that is yet to come. Here is where Christians, here is where we must be different from the world. When hell is let loose and the worst comes to worst, we do more than put up with it. We do more than just getting through. We must show patience, joy, and strength. you see we must be more than conquerors does this mean there's no heartache that there's no heartache in the destruction and the disaster that might befall us of course there heartache we not happy clappy I got joy in the Lord even though my house burned down and my children have been hauled away and I never see them again We're not jumping up and down.

But you remember what Paul said, we're like sheep that are led to the slaughter, yet we are more than conquerors. That is what God calls us to. Does that describe you this morning? If not, where is your faith? If not, ask, is God in Christ enough for me, or do I desire something more? And by the way, that more is less.

Like Habakkuk, our faith should make us more than conquerors. Lord God we must confess to you that your word in this text simply overwhelms us How can this be How can we be this way And so I pray that You would, by the means that You have given us, strengthen our faith. At this table, strengthen our faith. in this fellowship strengthen our faith as we pray strengthen our faith as we give our attention to the preaching of your word as we read it we ask you that you would strengthen our faith so that when the time comes we will be more than conquerors so that when the difficulties, the tragedies even the disasters that inevitably befall us in a fallen world, that we would glorify Your name with patience and joy and strength.

Prepare us for that, we pray. Strengthen our faith, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.