...yet I will rejoice

My beloved Bible study group met for the last time last night. We have come full circle—one whole year of Bible study together! (See 1 Peter, Ephesians, and Galatians). But this one was pretty bittersweet… not just because it was our final time together, but because it was the last with our dear friend Abbey before she and her husband accept God’s call to ministry in WV. Abbey has led each of our studies and has taught me more in the last year than all my years of Sunday school combined. Even though I might have definitely sighed groaned at her announcement that we were going to be in the OT instead of the NT this time; I have been RICHLY blessed by our studies in Habakkuk this go ‘round. [And as an aside, please note the proper spelling of Habakkuk here on this blog and not in my tweets (i.e. “Habbakuk”). Eek!]

To prep me for our study, Abbey suggested I listen to David Platt’s “Questioning God” sermon on Habakkuk and I’m so glad I did. I have gone back and listened to it several times and have gained new insight each time. Hearing Platt’s perspective has enriched my study and has shown me how applicable Habakkuk is to our lives today. 

Habakkuk was a prophet, who in 3 short chapters, poses some pain-staking questions to God and, in the end, finds more than just answers. Habakkuk is in distress because the nation of Judah is being judged by the Chaldeans (Babylonians) and all he sees before him is destruction and injustice. Multiple times Habakkuk cries out to God to put an end to the evil and despair and God responds twice. The first time in 1:5 to say, “For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” That wasn’t exactly what Habakkuk wanted to hear because it did not "fix" his problem nor put an end to the trouble he was in. Habakkuk could only see his present suffering, not the end result of it. 

I have found myself in Habakkuk’s place so many times-- asking God the same questions. Why, Lord, are you not removing me from (often literally) or doing anything about this situation? My finite mind always has to be reminded that we are called to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7) and that faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” 

Just like Habakkuk, we can only see what’s in front of us at this current moment—not how this situation and/or season is just a small piece of God’s bigger plan for our lives. The hard reality of Habakkuk, in Platt’s perspective, is that, “God uses painful experiences to accomplish His sovereign purposes.” In some cases, we may never know God’s reason for certain trials this side of Heaven. But God does not ask us to try and figure out why He does what He does. He calls us to live by faith and to trust His plan even if we do not understand the way it is unfolding.

Habakkuk asks God hard questions and, JUST LIKE US, is trying to reconcile the character of God with the circumstances of his life. How can God be good and there be so much evil and suffering in the world? Is He sitting idly by as we endure pain, cancer, death, sickness, depression, financial hardship? Absolutely not. Platt explains it so eloquently when he says, “Short term circumstances provide a poor measurement of the long term character of God.”

We see evidences of God’s flawless character and sovereignty in 2:3-4 when God responds to Habakkuk for the second time:

For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
    it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
    it will surely come; it will not delay.

Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
    but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Even though, just like Habakkuk, we want instant gratification and immediate answers from God… God says to “wait for it.” He promises that “it will surely come and will not delay” and that our only concern should be to “live by faith.” Our suffering is ultimately for our sanctification and His glorification. We see that demonstrated from the start of chapter 1 to the end of chapter 3 as Habakkuk goes from complaining to God to singing praise unto Him. His focus shifted from his problem onto his Savior and he came to realize that his hope and stability did not come from any thing but in God Himself. He says, beautifully, in 3:17-18:

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 was faithful to Habakkuk and He, no matter our current circumstance, has proven himself faithful to us. Let us rejoice in that.