Dan preaches from Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 3.17-19

Surviving Intense Trials

Some trials are self-induced - You buy something you can’t afford or make a wrong decision.

Some trials are forced upon you - you have a health crisis, and your washing machine breaks down. Job

Some trials are a mix. Moses

But trials are unavoidable and not unique to anyone; they are a shared experience, a part of our human journey. Part of the lie of our enemy is to convince us that we alone in our suffering.

Intense trials can tempt us to question God’s goodness or presence.

They can cause us to lose hope.

Consider lament in the Psalms.

It is suitable for us to have a realistic perspective and not always be foolishly optimistic. The Psalms are the church's songbook and do not sugarcoat anything. Sometimes, life becomes overbearing and difficult.

Psalm 10

Psalm 13

It is not wise for us to ignore our pain and suffering, but instead to embrace the reality of it and find help and hope in God.

Tim Tebow “Are you buried or planted?” The only difference is perspective.

The one who believes in God’s sovereignty can't be moved.

This is why I love the book of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk is categorized as a minor prophet because of the book's brevity, not because his message isn’t necessary. It is.

The prophecy is dated to the reign of Jehoiakim, probably between the years of 608 and 605 BC.

Oracle - prophetic message or (burden) lit

Habakkuk’s lament (1:2–4)

V2 How long shall I cry for help and you not hear?

V3-4 I see injustice, and I don’t see you doing anything about it.

When we have unmet expectations.

We thought people would help, but they don’t.

We thought things would be easier, but they aren’t.

God’s response (1:5–11)

V5 Look and see what I am doing. You wouldn’t believe it.

V11 Guilty men whose own strength is their god.

Some have questioned who he is talking about - Israel? Babylon or the Chaldeans?

O. Palmer Robertson “The violence is being done by the people of Israel, bc the Chaldeans are the means of judgment for the violence and the Assyrians could not be described as more righteous than the Chaldeans.”

Habakkuk’s further lament (1:12–2:1)

V12 Expresses his confidence in God’s protection and provision - his faithfulness.

V13 How can you let people more wicked than us do this?

V15 They will treat us like we are caught fish.

God’s response (2:2–20)

V2-3 Wait for it.

V4 The righteous will live by faith. Always

V5-20 God’s rebuke for and judgment of Babylon.

V14 God’s promise

V19 Woe to those who practice idolatry.

Habakkuk’s Prayer (3:1–19)

V2 I have heard of the past; revive your work in our day.

Remember mercy.

V3-16 All that God has done in Israel’s history.

V17 Though we have seemingly no provision.

O Palmer Robertson - “Within this formal structure, a double triad of objects may be noted, moving from the optional to the essential items for human survival. The fig tree, the fruit, and the olive represent the choicest products of the land. The fields’ grain, the flock, and cattle encompass the necessities of bread, milk, and meat. The absence of these items means no fig cakes, wine, or anointing oil for the sunbaked lady. No cereal, no vegetables, no milk, no mutton, no wool, none of these needs or pleasures shall be available to the prophet and his people.”

V18-19 He causes us to be able to live life with joy even amid hardship. How?

God is your salvation.

Rescue, deliverance, redemption, sons and daughters of God, forgiveness, meaning/purpose

God is your strength.

Rock, fortress, a very present help in times of need.

When we are weak, he is strong.

2 Cor 1.8 burdened beyond strength that we despaired

God is your steadfastness.

He is our stability. He makes us like deer, able to walk on treacherous mountainsides without faltering. His steadfast love endures forever.

Rom 8.28

“For those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Prayer: God, have your way in us. Grow us up in the faith. Set us apart. Let the circumstances of life mold us to be like your Son.