“When Life Doesn’t Make Sense”
Habakkuk 1:1-2:4
Sermon Series: “Where Is God?”
Introduction: Life often does not make sense to us, especially when we wrestle with difficult circumstances. Habakkuk was a prophet whose nation was in the midst of terrible circumstances, and he was questioning God because life was not making sense to him. What can we learn from Habakkuk that will help us “when life doesn’t make sense?”
Background: The prophet Habakkuk was a man going through a trial that was about to get worse. His nation was in shambles. Evil was abounding. There was no justice. He questioned God about this problem, and God told him that he was going to use the Babylonians to judge His people. Habakkuk’s trial was about to get bigger.
The Believer’s Study Bible notes say, “Although the prophecy is not dated according to the reign of a king, internal evidence presupposes a date between the death of King Josiah (609 B.C.) and the beginning of the Babylonian captivity (605 B.C.). The deplorable conditions of the people (1:2-4) imply a date after the untimely death of Josiah [who was a godly king who had attempted reform in the nation] at the Battle of Megiddo (609 B.C.) and during the wicked reign of King Jehoiakim (609-597 B.C.; cf. Jer. 22:13-23). Along with Zephaniah and Jeremiah, Habakkuk warned of God’s approaching judgment through the Chaldeans, i.e., the Babylonians. Nineveh, the capital of the once-mighty Assyrian Empire, fell to the Babylonians in 612 B.C. Seven years later (605 B.C.), Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish (on the Euphrates), then pursued the Egyptians back through Palestine. In so doing, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took hostages, including Daniel (Dan. 1:1). Doubtless he would have conquered the city, if word of the death of his father, Nabopolassar, had not reached him causing him to return immediately to Babylon to ascend the throne. Nevertheless, the first phase of the Babylonian captivity, of which Habakkuk prophesied, became a reality.”
Outline of the conversation between God and Habakkuk:
Habakkuk’s 1st Question (1:2-4) – When will you act justly and deal with evil?
God’s 1st Reply (1:5-11) – I am going to use the Chaldeans as a tool of judgment.
Habakkuk’s 2nd Question (1:12-2:1) – How can you use those who are more wicked than us to judge us?
God’s 2nd Reply – (2:2-20)
A. (2-4) His Word To The Righteous – Trust Him
B. (5-20) His Word To The Wicked – Judgment Is Coming
Based on this conversation, here are some lessons we can learn about what to do when life doesn’t make sense.
1. Go to God with our questions (1:2-4, 1:12-2:1).
A. We can ask God as long as we are inquiring and not accusing.
B. Faith is not a denial of the reality of our circumstances but trusting God with the
reality of what is going on.
C. Questions can be a means of applying God’s truth to our real life situations. D. Questions that are rooted in God’s character and Word and are seeking
understanding of God’s ways are not questions of unbelief.
E. Being a Christian does not erase or answer all of our questions. In fact, it may raise more questions because we have expectations of God.
2. Listen to God’s answers, even when He is correcting us (2:1-3).
A. God is going to do His will regardless of our opinion on the matter.
B. We must submit our ideas, opinions, feeling, beliefs, etc. to the authority of the
Word of God. It made no sense to Habakkuk that God would use people as wicked as the Babylonians to judge His people. However, he was overlooking some important truths such as: -Sin is sin. We have no right to compare ourselves to others, but each of us has to answer for ourselves personally.
-God’s people receive discipline now, but those who reject God receive eternal judgment (see Psalm 73).
-Somebody else being wrong (even more wrong than me) does not make me right and is really irrelevant to my situation.
-God does not create or cause evil, but He does use evil to bring about good.
-God hates evil, but He permits it for a time because He desires to save evildoers. It is natural (and good) for us to cry out for justice, but it is supernatural (and better) for us to cry out for salvation.
C. God is not obligated to explain to us why He is doing something.
3. Trust God no matter the circumstances because God is in control (2:2-4). God told Habakkuk that He was going to bring about His plan in His time. He is in control so we are to trust Him. This is the ultimate lesson in this account and God’s ultimate purpose for us. He wants us to trust Him beyond everything else (Hebrews 11:6). Here are some faith lessons:
A. The basis of faith is the Word of God (2:2-4). Really, faith can be defined as taking God at His Word and acting on it.
B. God wants us to trust Him even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
C. The proud do not trust God (James 4:6, Isaiah 57:15, Proverbs 16:5, 18-19). D. Faith and pride are opposites because faith is dependence and pride is
independence.
E. A person who truly trusts God is a humble person.
F. Through the cross of Jesus, there is justice for sin and we are justified at the same
time (Romans 3:19-26).
G. Faith is the way we are made right with God (2:4, Romans 1:16-17, Galatians
3:11, Hebrews 10:38).
H. Faith is the way the righteous live their lives. John MacArthur says, “Faith is not a
one-time act, but a way of life. The true believer, declared righteous by God, will persevere in faith as the pattern of his life.” Timothy George writes, “This means that saving faith cannot be reduced to a one-time decision or event in the past; it is a living dynamic reality permeating every aspect of the believer’s life.”
I. We are only made right by faith because God gets the credit and glory that way. If it were any other way, we would get glory and that would increase our pride (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
