‘YET I WILL REJOICE’

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on November 22, 2020 under 2020 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; November 22, 2020 from Habakkuk 3:17-19

Theme: The goodness of God is the basis of our enduring thanks even when times seem bad.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Every Sunday before Thanksgiving, we dedicate the morning to preparing our hearts for the holiday. In the secular world, it’s a holiday that has come—over time—to celebrate the giving of thanks in a general way. But for us as followers of Jesus, this is specifically a time for acknowledging God as our true Provider, and for giving thanks directly to Him for all that we have been given. And so, we want to prepare ourselves to celebrate that day in a worshipful way.

But this year, we are faced with a very unusual Thanksgiving holiday. For most of us, the typical, traditional celebrations can’t happen. We can’t gather with our family and friends like we usually do—except, perhaps, by a computer screen or a mobile device. We may not be able to prepare the usual abundance of food, because we can’t all be together to eat it. And for some of us—those who are dependent upon a gathering of the family at large—the holiday will hardly seem to be happening at all.

These are hard times in which to give thanks. And as I was thinking about what passage we could best look to before such an unusual holiday-time as this one, I was drawn to the words found at the end of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. In Habakkuk 3:17-19, we find a bold determination to give thanks to God. In fact, when it comes to giving thanks in difficult circumstances, it is perhaps the boldest resolve of faith that you’ll find in the Bible:

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor 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 (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

In this passage, we find three things that we all need very much right now. First, we see the realistic and honest description that Habakkuk gives of the very challenging and difficult prospects that he was facing. But second, we see the bold resolve of heart that he makes to thank and praise God anyway—even in the midst of those difficult prospects. And finally, we see the affirmation that he makes of the trustworthiness of God to strengthen him and help him in the midst of whatever those challenging times may bring.

This passage, then, gives us—who are also going through a very trying time—a pattern to follow in thinking about three very relevant things: (1) the reality of our situation, (2) the resolve we need to make in that situation, and (3) the reliability of our God in carrying us through it all. Together, Habakkuk’s expression of these three points teaches us something immeasurably valuable and precious—that the goodness of God is the basis of an enduring thanks even when the times seem bad.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; this is a beloved passage of Scripture. Many of us have read it and quoted it. Some folks have even treated it as an example of great poetry—and it truly is great poetry. But unless we understand it in its context, this portion of God’s word will not minister to us in the powerful and necessary way that God intends for it to minister to us.

This passage doesn’t come to us in a book of beautiful poetry, but rather in a book of hard prophecy. And it doesn’t come at the beginning of that book, but at the end—after some very terrifying prospects for the future were laid out before its human author. The man that God used to give this passage to us was named Habakkuk. His name in Hebrew means ‘to embrace’ or ‘to cling’. And it seems to me that this name was remarkably appropriate; because in a very difficult time of trial for his people, his closing words show us that he was genuinely ‘embracing’ or ‘clinging’ to his confidence in God when everything else around him was in a frightening state of distress and uncertainty.

Habakkuk lived about 650 years before the time when Jesus was actively ministering on the earth. He lived in the land of Israel; and it was extraordinarily bad times for the nation. The people of Israel had grown to be very sinful and disobedient to God. Wickedness and violence and injustice were abounding everywhere. It broke the heart of righteous Habakkuk to see the dreadful spiritual condition of his people. He began his book by crying out to God in prayer and saying;

O Lord, how long shall I cry,
And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, “Violence!”
And You will not save.

Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds (Habakkuk 1:2-4).

Don’t those words have a disturbingly familiar sound? Don’t they seem just like the kind of things we say about our own time? Aren’t there moments when you watch the evening news and pray, “God, don’t you see what’s going on? Don’t you care? Can’t you hear the cry of your people? How long will you allow it all? When will you finally do something to turn things around?” I identify all too well with Habakkuk’s prayer in those words; don’t you?

God then goes on, in this first chapter, to respond to Habakkuk’s cry. But Habakkuk was not at all prepared for the shocking answer that God gave. God promised that He was about to send the dreaded Chaldeans—that is, the nation of Babylon—down upon the people of Israel in judgment. They were a heathenish, paganistic, idolatrous, profoundly wicked people; and as God’s instrument of judgment, they would show no mercy to the people of Israel. As history teaches us, they, in fact, did come; and they completely conquered the people of Israel, destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its temple, left everything in a burning wreck, and carried the people of Israel away into exile in Babylon for 70 years.

Well; God’s promise that this would happen brought poor Habakkuk into even greater turmoil of heart. The people of Israel were behaving wickedly and disobediently; that’s true. But they were still God’s chosen people. How could God bring so horrific a punishment upon them? And how could so holy a God use so wicked a nation as the Chaldeans to administer that punishment? What God had said in response to Habakkuk’s prayer ended up making him pray even more:

Are You not from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.

O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for correction.
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them? (vv. 12-14).

And yet, in all this, Habakkuk remained a godly and reverent man. In the midst of his complaint to God, he expressed a humble faith. He concluded his prayer to God—at the beginning of Chapter 2—by saying;

I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected (2:1).

And I love that; don’t you? Habakkuk knew that the problem was not with God. It was with him. He was just too small to understand the ways of the Almighty God. And so—true to his name—he clung faithfully to God and waited patiently until he was ‘corrected’. That’s a good attitude for you and me to have in these times too. We may not understand God’s ways in it all. But we would be hasty if we were to conclude that God didn’t care, or was not listening to the cry of His people, or was behaving unjustly. Times like these require that we do as Habakkuk did—that we pray, and stand, and watch, and wait until we are corrected by God.

Well; God did answer. He told Habakkuk,

“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.

“Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith” (2:2b-4).

And then, for the rest of Chapter 2, God describes—in terrifying detail—the judgment that He would eventually bring upon the Chaldeans for their wickedness. After it all—in the prospect of all this turmoil and trouble—He assured Habakkuk,

“But the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him” (2:20).

And then comes Chapter 3. It’s another prayer of Habakkuk—a prayer of response to what God promised that He would do in His righteous judgment upon the Chaldeans who harm His people. And Habakkuk began this long prayer by saying,

O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy (3:2).

If you’ll look at verse 1 of this chapter, you’ll see that it says that it is a prayer “on Shigionoth”. That is a Hebrew notation of musical instruction. And if you’ll look at the last verse of this chapter, you’ll see that it says, “To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments”. In other words, the whole prayer of Chapter 3 was intended to be sung as a worship song of praise. And the theme of this song is the mighty power of God in the defense of His people. It is truly awesome to read of the dreadful power of God that He promises to display when He comes to the rescue of His people, as He delivers them from the Babylonian nation. Habakkuk concluded this vision of the greatness of God by saying;

When I heard, my body trembled;
My lips quivered at the voice;
Rottenness entered my bones;
And I trembled in myself,
That I might rest in the day of trouble.
When he comes up to the people,
He will invade them with his troops (v. 16).

Habakkuk knew—with certainty—that times of distress were coming. Yet, they were times over which God exercised complete control. And it’s then that we read that marvelous, much-loved affirmation of praise that we find in in our passage—in verses 17-19. Let’s read it again:

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor 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 (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

And now; I hope you see that these aren’t merely words of sentimental poetry. These are words of a bold, tough-minded commitment of faith in a time of horrific trial. They speak to the reality of living in a very frightening and uncertain situation, and to the resolve to praise God in the midst of that situation, and to go forth with trust in God’s reliability throughout it all.

We need very much to hear these words—and take them to heart—and to offer God this kind of Thanksgiving in our time right now!

* * * * * * * * * *

Consider first how this passage speaks to …

1. THE REALITY OF OUR SITUATION.

Ours is a situation of great uncertainty. Major events are occurring; and as they unfold, there’s a sense we all have that things will not be what they once were. What will the economy end up being like? Will we work again? Will our jobs be secure? What will the political situation be like? Will there be safety and security for us? Will we be able to meet our basic needs? Taking the words of our passage—in verse 17—we might ask, “will the fig tree still blossom? Will there still be fruit on the vines?” That is to say, will there be the basic food items that we’re used to? What about our livelihoods and income sources? “Will the labor of the olive fail? Will the fields yield their food?” That is, will the sources of income that we have relied upon still provide for our family and ourselves? And what about those things that we count on for security and provision for the future? “Will the flocks be cut off from the fold? Will there be no herd in the stalls?”

Those were real concerns for the people of Israel in those days. The threat of the coming Chaldean armies meant that the fruit trees would be cut down, and the farm fields would be raided, and that livestock would be taken away. The future for God’s people was very uncertain. And it may seem that way for you and me right now.

But do you notice the word that begins that list of those things in verse 17?

“Though …” Even though those things are in jeopardy, we still have cause for praise and thanks to God. Our ultimate provision does not come from them. It comes from Him. He is to be looked to as our unfailing Provider. As the apostle Paul once wrote;

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

What that provision may look like—and what the timing of it all is—is not up to us. It is all up to Him. But we can trust Him—“though” everything else may fail. If you believe this, then you will have an unfailing, enduring cause for Thanksgiving—no matter what the circumstances.

This leads us, then, to …

2. THE RESOLVE WE NEED TO MAKE.

If this is true—if God is our unfailing Provider who is never subject to the circumstances—then “though” everything else may fail, as Habakkuk says in verse 18, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord …” In the original Hebrew, this is put in the form of the verb that expresses a purpose of choice. “As an act of personal determination, I will rejoice.”

And brothers and sisters; that’s what you and I need to do in these times. We need to make a resolve that we will praise and thank God—no matter what the circumstances! The times change; but He never does. Everything else is uncertain; but He remains our Provider and Caregiver. In fact, if we can think of nothing else to thank Him for, we can thank Him for the greatest thing of all. Habakkuk says, in verse 18, “I will joy in the God of my salvation.” The apostle Peter wrote to some Christians who were suffering a terrible time of persecution; and he told them,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:3-9).

Now; it’s important for us to notice how Habakkuk was brought to this resolve. He was able to make this bold commitment to praise God—even in the midst of uncertain prospects—because he was first given a promise from God of what God Himself would do; and was then given a revelation of what God Himself is like. Our ability to praise and thank God in such hard times comes from learning from His revealed word what He is like and what He can do.

And so, that leads us to one more thing that we gain from this passage; and that is …

3. THE RELIABILITY OF OUR GOD.

Habakkuk was able to say, in verse 19, that the Lord was His strength. No matter what the times may be like, he was confident that the God he trusted would uphold him and make him walk through the rough and uncertain places safely and securely—making his feet like the feet of a deer. God would make him whatever he needed to be in the times. It was not a promise that Habakkuk would have everything he wanted. Rather, it was a promise that God would be everything he needed.

God is able to do the same for us in our times; because our God is the same today as He was in the days of Habakkuk. The question, dear brothers and sisters, is whether or not we will trust Him. Will we display that trust by the fact that—though the times may be rough and uncertain—we say, “Yet I will rejoice …”? Will we prove it by thanking and praising Him for all His goodness and all His provision—most of all for the salvation of our souls through His Son Jesus Christ? Will we prove it by trusting Him to sustain us through the times to come?

* * * * * * * * * *

So; even though this is a very unusual ‘Thanksgiving’ season for us—and for the people around us—it’s a great opportunity for us to show others where our trust and our thanks truly lies.

It’s not in our government. It’s not in our economy. It’s not in our savings. It’s not in our jobs. It’s not in the ability of our hands to provide for ourselves. We may be thankful for these things; but they are not where our ultimate trust is found. And we certainly may be thankful for the people in our lives—our family, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow Christians. But they aren’t the ones to whom we owe our ultimate thanks. All of those things can be lost to us. But we know that they are not where our ultimate hope lies.

These times are an opportunity to have a bold, ‘Habakkuk-like’ resolve of heart. No matter what—though the times may be good or may be bad—we can say; “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord …”

EA