Faith and Joy (Habakkuk 3:18)

 

Habakkuk was a prophet who faced dark times socially, economically, politically, nationally, and personally. He foresaw the demise of his culture from within and without. It was in the midst of what he was being told by God that he heard the Lord remind him that pride brings destruction, but the better way is trusting in the Lord: “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). 

The Apostle Paul saw the same thing hundreds of years later. He chronicled the downward spiral of society, a society that pushed hard against God and so God “gave them up in the lusts of their own heart…gave them up to dishonorable passions…gave them up to a debased mind” (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). But before he launched into this description, he takes us to God’s message in Habakkuk, “For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”” (Romans 1:17). 

So, what does it look like for the righteous to live by faith in dark and disorienting times? Habakkuk 3! That final chapter of Habakkuk is a Psalm written by the prophet intended for temple worship. It describes who God is, even how pestilence runs before him and plague follows hard on his steps as he walks through the land. And yet the prophet trusts in God’s goodness, “O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2).

It's as the prophet is winding his song of praise and worship down, and coming to the conclusion that you hear a righteous man living with faith in dreadful times. Starting in v.17 he describes a world where there’s no groceries left on the shelves, the stores are barren like when looters ravage stores after a hurricane. There’s no possibility to care for the family, no produce, no electricity, no plumbing. Then the prophet announces, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18). This righteous one would live by faith, even in the worst of situations. 

That speaks to us, whatever our situation. Maybe your marriage has imploded and feels like it is lifeless and empty of any love or life, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18). Maybe your retirement has turned into a wasteland of meaninglessness or drifting along in a desert, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Maybe life has not turned out the way you dreamed when you were that little girl peddling down the sidewalk in a tricycle, and you almost despair of any goodness, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Maybe your world has turned inside out and upside down and the future looks empty and bleak, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Maybe that prognosis by your doctor has knocked the legs out from under you, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” 

It doesn’t take your problems away. It doesn’t remove the pain. It doesn’t fix all your troubles. But the righteous live! And they live by faith, even in the worst of times, because they know God, and most especially, they know God in the flesh, Jesus Christ the Lord. And so they can say, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” 

Pastor Mike

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