Habakkuk 3

FAITH THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD

Habakkuk no longer wrestles with God’s plans and instead embraces His purposes. His faith leads to triumph in life and provides important lessons we must learn if we are to experience triumphant faith.

We must learn that the trials we face are not as much about us as they are about God and His glory. Sadly, our perspective asks how things affect us more so than what is the Sovereign Lord seeking to accomplish. Habakkuk finds victory in the plans of God (1-2). Habakkuk internalizes God’s truth and accepts that God will do as He pleases. Habakkuk chooses to move forward in faith. God told Habakkuk that He was working in the world (1:5) and has shown he would not die (1:12). The key to living is faith (2:4). Habakkuk affirms that God’s judgment of sinners is a fearful thing. Recognizing what God was about to do, Habakkuk cries for mercy amid God’s impending judgment.

Victorious faith remembers God’s power (3-15). Habakkuk reviews the history of God’s people, the nation Israel. Habakkuk provides a short history of what we find when we read God’s Word. God demonstrated His character, power, and wrath from the sending of plagues (v5) to the giving of the law (v3-4). God displayed His power in the conquest of the Promised Land (6-7). God led His people in victory (8-15). All these sections demonstrate how God intervened with His power at critical moments to deliver His people and ensure their salvation. The note of victory in verse 13 is critical! When you know that God has worked in the past you can trust Him as He works in the present and in the future.

Victorious faith rests God’s purposes (16-19). This is one of the greatest biblical confessions of faith. When everything around me fails – the fields, the vineyards, the flocks, and the herds, can I still rejoice in God? Habakkuk rests in the Lord (16). Though facing the frightening reality of an impending invasion, Habakkuk proclaims his faith and trust in God. Habakkuk rejoices in the Lord (17-18). Habakkuk knew about the utter destruction that Jerusalem would experience yet he chooses to rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk will rely on the Lord (19). During distressing times, God’s true children still rejoice in Him. He will be our strength, our security, and our salvation. The Lord strengthens His people for trials and through trials. Habakkuk proclaims his strength and surefootedness in the face of distressing times.

We find ourselves in a time of crisis, but our God has not changed. We must look to Him and embrace His plans, remember His power, and rest in His purposes. Then our faith will be triumphant!

Pastor Chris Thompson

The post Daily Devotion – April 3rd appeared first on South River Baptist Church.

Habakkuk 2:1-4

When Faith is Taught

In chapter 1, Habakkuk’s faith is tested as he wrestles with God’s method of judging His people. In chapter 2, Habakkuk goes to school with God so that his faith can be taught. What lessons does he need to learn? What do we need to learn?

First, we need to be in the proper position to see what God has to say (1). The prophet mounts the watchtower for God’s message to share. Those on the watchtower had a serious responsibility to ensure the protection of the city. Pastors should realize that God reveals the best way to protect His people. As the prophet patiently waits for God’s Word, he must possess a teachable spirit embracing correction if necessary.

Second, God’s Word will be clear and critical to share (2). God’s message is plain and straightforward to hear and to heed. It is amazing how many are willing to listen to the latest government mandate but unwilling to listen to God’s Word.

Third, God’s Word will not return void (3). Habakkuk is instructed that God’s Word has an appointed time for fulfillment. We must patiently wait for God to fulfill His Word. God details how He will judge the ruthless Chaldean army. This prophetic word will be fulfilled when God judges the Babylonian world system in the final days. One might think we are near to entering that time now. The book of Revelation shows how God finally judges the puffed-up Babylonian world system.

Fourth, God’s revelation provides a contrast between two groups of people (4). Either you are a humble individual who trusts in God or a proud individual who trusts in yourself. The Chaldeans were examples of those puffed up with pride and twisted on the inside (crooked or “not upright”). In contrast, humble individuals are made righteous because they live by faith. God’s declares the believing sinner righteous. God will preserve the repentant sinner but will destroy the proud unrepentance sinner. Do I know which group I am part of?

We must be taught to watch and wait. Faith does not look for the seen things, but the unseen things. Faith must learn to wait and believe that God will do what He says. Faith must rest in God by trusting in His nature even when the events suggest otherwise.

God promises to be a refuge for the one who trusts in Him. God declares judgment upon the sins of the wicked world exemplified by the proud Chaldeans. Tomorrow we will be instructed on behaviors deserving of God’s judgment (2:5-20). But today we are instructed to live by faith in the Lord.

Pastor Chris Thompson

The post Daily Devotion – April 1st appeared first on South River Baptist Church.

When Faith is Tested

No one likes the hickory stick or going to the woodshed. Younger generations may not understand those terms, but many know they refer to moments of discipline to correct rebellious behavior. God takes sin seriously and He instructed His people about the certainty of judgment for disobeying His commands. Thankfully, God is longsuffering and merciful.

God had warned His people through natural disasters and foreign occupation of the Promised Land to no avail. God’s patience was tested, and His judgment was about to arrive in an amazing and shocking manner. Habakkuk was instructed to look across the nations and witness an astounding sight. God’s intention to discipline is found in verse 5. His instrument to discipline is found in verses 6-11.

God’s agent of correction was the Chaldean army. He chose a nation that promoted itself, exploited others, and rejected authority to bring judgment to Judah. This chosen judgment agent confounds the prophet. God’s ways often confound us too. While we wrestle with moments such as these, we must be careful to ask the right questions of God. God’s people were more than deserving of God’s correction. God is never indifferent to the sins of His people, the nation Israel or the church. If judgment begins at the house of God, what then can the wicked expect (1 Peter 4:11)? God takes sin seriously.

The prophet expresses confusion on God’s use of an evil nation for judgment. Habakkuk asks several questions as he wrestles with God’s decisions. Why would God employ a people of iniquity (12-13)? Why use sinners to punish other sinners? Why would God endorse a people of injustice (14-15)? If God is righteous and just, how could he use an unjust nation to make His people right? Why would God excuse a people of idolatry (16-17)? God’s people were being judged for their idolatry by an even more idolatrous nation.

Habakkuk questions God’s decision appealing to His name (v 12), His nature (v 13), and His justice (v 14-17). God had purposes to fulfill through the Jewish nation and He would preserve His people, but they would experience painful trials. We must remember that the greater the light, the greater the responsibility to walk in the light. The Jews claimed to know the Lord and yet they were sinning against the very law they claimed to believe! Sin in the life of a believer is far worse than sin in the life of an unbeliever.

Habakkuk’s wrestling with God’s revelation is an opportunity to refine his faith. We are in a similar situation today. We must honestly and humbly ask some tough questions not of God, but of ourselves.

Pastor Chris Thompson

The post Daily Devotion – March 31st appeared first on South River Baptist Church.