Articles
Habakkuk's Faith - 8.27.2023 Bulletin
Bold Statement in the Bible
Habakkuk’s Faith: Habakkuk 3.17-19
One thing I must constantly remind myself when reading and studying God’s word is the people (Jesus being the exception) were men and women just like us. James notes that “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (James 5.17). Elijah was a great prophet of God, so great even that Elijah didn’t die, God took him into heaven (2 Kings 2.11), yet he was one of us. Therefore, the Bible provides many examples of ordinary people, doing and saying extraordinary things. One of which is Habakkuk’s declaration of faith.
Habakkuk 3.17-19 says, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor the fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.” What can we learn from Habakkuk’s faith.
First, our faith must be strong even in the worst of circumstances. It’s easy to have faith when everything is going well. But how is your faith in the trying times? Does it fade and we question God? Or does it continue to trust in God knowing that He has a plan? During the time of Habakkuk, the wickedness of Judah was great, and God was going to use the Chaldeans, a nation even more wicked, as His instrument of Judgement. But what is God’s answer to the cries of Habakkuk, “the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2.4). Even in these difficult circumstances, with impending trouble, and even if all means and resources for food fail, Habakkuk declares, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.” The battle for faith begins in the heart, and for Habakkuk, this battle had already been won. Has the battle been won in our hearts as well? If we have made up our mind that our faith is in Jehovah, then circumstances good or bad, won’t cause us to turn away from Him, but instead we will continue to trust in God’s plan knowing He can use any means to carry it out. As God told Habakkuk, “For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” (Habakkuk 1.5b)
Habakkuk also teaches us that our joy is independent of our circumstances. Habakkuk says, “I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Even amid all that was going on Habakkuk still found a way to be happy. Happiness is a choice. We can either choose to mope around all day, or we can choose to be joyful. No one enjoys being around someone who always has a doom and gloom, unhappy attitude. If this person is a known Christian, their attitude is going to hurt their influence in spreading the gospel. Why would someone want to become a Christian if this is the attitude they have? While the person who is joyful despite difficulties displays an attitude different than most and may influence others to find why you are so joyful. The reason Habakkuk could have this joy is because he knew through the Lord the victory was already secured. “He will make me walk on my high hills” is language of victory and triumph. Jehovah will reward those who are faithful to Him. The faithful will find strength in Christ to triumph not only over the trials in the world, but the world itself. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. We can only have this triumph by looking to Christ, and solely focusing on Him. Habakkuk knew that, and we need to learn that from him.
- Glad_Tidings_8.27.2023_PDF.pdf (4.07 MB)
