Trust the Lord No Matter What

In one paragraph

Pastor Jeff walked through the book of Habakkuk, tracing the prophet's honest, back-and-forth wrestling with God over the violence and injustice he saw around him in Judah. The sermon's central point was that trusting God is not the same as understanding God, and that Habakkuk's prayer in chapter three shows what it looks like to arrive at genuine faith after genuine struggle. Habakkuk opens with...

Read together

1. Habakkuk 1:1-4 Habakkuk's opening lament to God about violence and injustice, read aloud as the first part of the first dialogue cycle
2. Habakkuk 1:5-11 God's response telling Habakkuk He is raising up the Chaldeans/Babylonians
3. Habakkuk 2:1 Habakkuk declares he will stand at his watch post and wait to hear what God will say
4. Habakkuk 2:2-3 God tells Habakkuk to write the vision down plainly and wait for its appointed time
5. Habakkuk 2:4 quoted as a key memory verse: the proud soul is not upright but the righteous shall live by his faith
6. Habakkuk 2:5-20 the five woes against pride, unjust gain, violent builders, those who force neighbors to drink, and idolaters
7. Habakkuk 3:1-19 Habakkuk's closing prayer and song expressing trust in God no matter what the circumstances
8. Jeremiah 17:7-8 used as the benediction, blessing the one who trusts in the Lord, like a tree planted by water

Talk about it

1. Habakkuk opens by laying out what he sees around him honestly and directly to God, complaining that violence is everywhere and justice seems paralyzed. What holds us back from praying that honestly, and what might change if we did?
2. God tells Habakkuk he is raising up the Babylonians, a nation more wicked than Israel, as the instrument of judgment. Has there been a time when God's answer to your prayer made things seem worse before they got better? How did you respond?
3. Pastor Jeff pointed out that Habakkuk two four, 'the righteous shall live by his faith,' sits right alongside a description of the proud person whose soul is not upright. Where in your own life are you tempted to trust your own strength or resources instead of God?
4. The five woes God speaks cover unjust gain, violent ambition, taking advantage of neighbors, and idolatry. The sermon suggested idols are anything that takes the place of God in your life. What are some modern examples that hit close to home for you?
5. Habakkuk ends by saying he will rejoice in the Lord even if the fig tree does not blossom, the vines fail, and the flocks are gone. What would it look like practically, in your current circumstances, to trust God no matter what the way Habakkuk describes?