Habakkuk 3:17-19 – Free Sermon Notes – Joy In The Midst Of Trials

Habakkuk 3:17-19 – Responding to Trials with Joy

Big Idea: Choose to rejoice when facing trials.

Introduction:

There was once an elderly woman who suffered chronically from a painful illness. Her pastor went to visit her to see how she was doing. She was in good spirits and smiled at him. He asked why she was so joyful. And she told him, “I have a lovely robin that sings outside my window. I love him, because he sings in the rain.”He sings in the rain. When storms silence most other birds, robins keep right on singing in the rain. Singing in the sunshine is easy, but we need to learn to sing joyful praises to our God even when the storms of life hit.

Today we are studying Habakkuk 3:17-19. We come to the very end of this book. We have seen that Habakkuk has struggled with confusion and doubt. He doesn’t know why God does things the way he does. Habakkuk has said, “Why God? Why do you allow these things?” However, we have seen that Habakkuk moves past this. In this chapter we see his prayer to the Lord and learn that he finally accepts God’s plans. Last week in Ian’s sermon we see that he accepts that God is God and we are not. And today we will see the ending of his prayer as he makes a commitment before God to choose to rejoice when facing trials.

Let’s read together.

Let’s pray.

I. You will face trials

A. Habakkuk describes catastrophic trials

Habakkuk lists out some of the worst trials that people faced in his days. We don’t know Habakkuk’s occupation. Perhaps he was a farmer. But even if he wasn’t, he was writing in terms that all of the farmers around him could relate to. Most people lived off of the land, either by growing crops, or raising livestock. In this verse fig trees, grapes, and olives are mentioned. One interesting thing about all of these specific fruits mentioned, is that they take 3 to 5 years to bear fruit. They require a long term time commitment. The farmer puts in a lot of work preparing the soil, planting the crops and making sure they get the water and nutrition they need. He expects to see a good return on his investment. He not only expects it, but he needs it. These fruit would be sold to provide his livelihood. He and his family are counting on it. So after years, the day to harvest comes. Naturally the farmer walks through his fields to examine the trees and the vines. But he doesn’t see what he expects. Even after waiting three or more years there is nothing. His trees are not producing fruit. The figs are not even blossoming! It cannot be explained. Through reasons he cannot see or understand, they are completely barren. All of his work is for nothing. And what is more, even his fields of planted vegetables produce NO FOOD. None. It is not just an especially bad crop. It is no crop whatsoever.

After this, however, the trials only get worse. You can imagine Habakkuk starting to panic as he walks through his fields. The magnitude of the disaster in front of him is starting to dawn on him. How will his family have enough food for the coming year? How can he repay the debt he owes? Well, at least he has a lot of sheep, right? If worse comes to worse, he can always sell his sheep to make ends meet. So he keeps walking to his sheep pens. Only when he gets there, he finds there are no sheep. They have all disappeared into thin air. So he rushes to the cattle stalls. ALL GONE!

The trial that Habakkuk describes here is sudden; it happens with no warning. It is severe. It is a financial disaster. And it is not a normal level of trial that farmers would face. The causes are not seen. There are no answers to the question “why?” or “how?” or “why me?” Habakkuk basically describes the worst nightmare of a farmer.

B. What trials do we face today?

Are there any farmers here today? Anyone who grew up working on a farm? I see not very many. Let’s make it easier. Did any of you have a garden? When I grew up my family had a garden. It was not an easy place to grow things. The good news is that in Texas where I lived there were not many rocks in the soil. In fact, there was only one. But the bad news is that it was very large and covered the whole state :) We also lived in the country where there were many deer who would eat the crops. So dirt had to be hauled in just to make a garden. And then an electric fence had to be built to keep the deer out. The hardest part was digging the holes for the posts in solid stone. Thankfully, my brothers were older than me and got to do this. Finally the garden was ready and everything was planted. We planted a few watermelon plants and I loved watermelon. So I excitedly watched as they grew. Two watermelons started growing and I went out everyday to see their progress. But after a while they stopped growing. Finally they withered up and died. I was really disappointed.

So I can feel a little what Habakkuk is talking about here. But obviously this was not a big trial. We could still buy any food we needed from the supermarket. So what might Habakkuk say to convey this idea if he lived in modern day New York. He might say something like this:

Though my salary never arrives,

and I am fired suddenly from my job,

though my bank account is emptied through a scam

and my English students refuse to pay me,

though my refrigerator is empty

and there is no food on the table…

He describes a catastrophic trial. It is sudden. It is severe.

C. Brothers and sisters all around are facing trials, often unseen by us

I believe that many of you are facing trials. Some of you are facing health issues. Some of you have chronic pain. Others have frequent sicknesses. Our brother C has a strong negative reaction to pesticides. In his own words he says, “When I get around pesticides, my thinking slows down, my balance is impaired, I can get palpitations, and I have bouts of sudden, extreme fatigue.” He also has to avoid many places and often he needs to wear a charcoal mask.

Our brother A has Crohn’s disease, which is a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. There are many foods he can’t eat, which affect his everyday life. Here are just a few he can’t eat: bread, spicy food, high fiber food, corn, beans. No pizza. No burgers. No hot dogs. It causes him to lose weight. He needs to make many hospital visits. And it zaps his energy and causes extreme fatigue.

A few months ago we had a sports meeting. What you might not know is that sister A was hit by a flying ball from another group and got a bad concussion. She felt dizzy and weak for weeks. Just when she was starting to get back on her feet, she slipped on a marble floor and hit her head again and got another concussion. In the time she was able to come to church she had to wear sunglasses and ear plugs to limit the stimulation. These are just a few of the health trials some members of GICF face. Perhaps you are facing yours silently and nobody knows it.

Others in our congregation are facing challenges with visas. Brother B spent almost a year trying to get a work visa. He faced countless obstacles and setbacks, although he eventually received it. Another brother many of you may not know is brother D from the ushering team. Brother D is from India. He had to return to India to get a visa before returning to Guangzhou. That was over one year ago and he still cannot return yet.

These are only a few of the trials that I know about. I believe there are many more unseen.

Some of these trials are short term, but others are long term. Some of you hope to get married. Perhaps you have been hoping to get married and have a family of your own for years. Some of you want to have kids, but haven’t been able to.

These are not easy things. And it is challenging for me to stand up here and tell you “everything will be OK” or to quote Scripture to you like a robot. I cannot possibly understand the difficulty of what you are facing, the nights when you have cried yourself to sleep when the trials of this world become too much to bear. I haven’t faced these things. I can’t feel what you are feeling.

D. God is good all the time (even when we face trials)

And yet I am standing up here today because God’s truth is still true even when it is hard to understand. He is still on His throne. He is still good. He does love you and He does have a plan for you. The power of His Word speaks to our own life situations regardless of the messenger.

Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Both of these verses tell us that God has our best at heart. Do you believe that?

It is easy for us to focus on the trials that come to us and forget the many blessings. When we do that doubts about God’s goodness may slowly creep in. This week I was teaching my children that they should say “thank you” for the good things people do for them instead of taking those things for granted. It is a simple lesson, but the truth is we all sometimes take the Lord for granted. When He gives us good gifts we may forget to say “thank you.” And when we face trials, we may complain instead of seeing the good in them.

E. Trials have a purpose

The truth is even trials are for our good. If you know the Scripture, you already know that trials have a purpose. And yet in Scripture we are constantly reminded “do not forget.” So today I want to remind you to not forget that trials do have a purpose.

James 1:3 says, “the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

1 Peter 5:10 tells us that “after you have suffered for a little while, {He} will restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.”

God uses trials to build our character. In the book of Habakkuk we see that the Israelites are going to face a serious trial of defeat and exile. For hundreds of years they will be forced subjects of a foreign kingdom far from home. And yet God used this to turn their hearts back to Him. God wants to use trials to strengthen you and your faith. The Israelites faced a trial of discipline because of their sin.

Sometimes a trial could come because of our own poor choices or even be discipline from the Lord. In these cases we need to learn the hard lessons and change our behavior. But they very often are not because of our sin. The disciples faced this own question about the man born blind. Who sinned? He or his parents? Jesus said his blindness was not a cause of anyone’s sin.

God sends you trials because He loves you. REPEAT. This is a bold statement and perhaps hard to accept, but it is nonetheless true. He wants to mold and shape you into the best version of yourself you can possibly be. He cares more about your long term good and character than your short term comfort. We are often about the here and now, creatures of the present, so this is difficult for us. But to God a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day. If a trial today can improve your character for a thousand years, then it is worth it. This is the purpose of trials.

At the same time, we should remember that God does not send us into these trials callously. He does not send you in alone.

F. We don’t face trials alone

Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.”

And of course we remember Psalm 23 “Though I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Turn to your