This week as we continue our series on Lament, I am inviting you to read the short book of Habakkuk. It is only three chapters, depending on the translation you use, it is a little over one thousand words. It is about a ten-minute read.
Go ahead and check it out, see if my ten-minute estimate is accurate. I’ll wait…
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk%201-3&version=NIV
Done already?
What did you think?
Habakkuk is a book that speaks with raw honesty to the struggles and uncertainties of life. We are given a front row seat to a conversation between the prophet and God. This story is not one of easy answers or quick fixes, but of a deepening faith forged in the midst of unresolved pain and unanswered questions.
Habakkuk’s journey began with lament; a cry of confusion, anger, and pain directed honestly to God. He did not hide his frustration or sugarcoat his prayers. Instead, he modeled what it means to bring our real selves before God, trusting that lament is not the opposite of faith, but through lament our faith deepened and strengthened.
As the story progressed, Habakkuk received a difficult answer from God; that things would not get better soon, and the coming days would be even harder. Yet, instead of running or raging, Habakkuk chose to wait, to stay present, and to watch for what God would do.
In chapter three, we witnessed a profound transformation.
Did you see it?
Habakkuk’s circumstances had not changed, but his posture had. He moved from questioning to worship, from confusion to quiet surrender. He looked back on God’s faithfulness in the past, using memory as an anchor for his faith in the present. Even as fear and trembling overtook him, he declared, “Yet I will rejoice.” This was not a denial of sorrow, but a choice to anchor his hope in God’s unchanging character rather than in his circumstances.
When I think about our church family at Marion, there are some of us that are in the “chapter one” phase of lamenting… “Lord, how long…”
There are some of us who are in the “chapter two” phase where we are waiting and listening to God’s response.
And some are in the “phase three” phase where through the work of the Holy Spirit we are compelled to trust and worship in spite of all the evil and injustice we are seeing and experiencing.
I think all three phases are acceptable and necessary for a strengthening and deepening of our faith.
Let’s talk about it on Sunday.
~ Pastor Dustin
