Journey Through Habakkuk

Every generation is different, yet the need of every generation is the same. Every generation needs a spiritual revival in their generation. I hope your heart today is hungry to see a great spiritual awakening in your own life and your family, in your church, and in our world. Because that is the desperate need of this hour. And it was the desperate need, in Habakkuk’s hour as well. We will discover this need as we journey through Habakkuk.

Listen: Journeying through Habakkuk

Overview of Habakkuk

Habakkuk is a fascinating little book. It is only three chapters long. The setting was directly before the attack by Babylon. Remember, God’s people were about to go into captivity. They have been dealing with lots of enemies. They have been dealing with Edom, the Edomites. That was the book of Obadiah. They have been dealing with Assyria. That is the book of Nahum. Here, they are dealing with Babylon, and this is the nation God chose to bring them into captivity. That is the nation that Habakkuk has in view, and the context of this book.

God often uses wicked men to accomplish His purpose, but in the end, they always receive their own judgment. God deals with them. Edom, Assyria, and Babylon were not off the hook. Godwould deal with them. But in this context, God is dealing with His own people.

Habakkuk’s name means embracer, and it is interesting to me because he has to embrace the reality that his own nation is going into captivity. However, there is something greater that he must embrace, and that is the promises of God. During this difficult season in his nation, he still had to believe that God remains on the throne and maintains control.

Key Verse of Habakkuk

That is demonstrated in what I believe is the key verse of the book of Habakkuk. It is found in Habakkuk 2:4. It is a familiar verse. The Bible says, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”

Habakkuk 2:4 is famous not because it is found in Habakkuk, but because it is repeated three times in the New Testament:

• Romans 1:17: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
• Galatians 3:11: “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
• Hebrews 10:38: “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

The key that unlocks the blessing, the key to living in dark days, and the key to seeing revival and spiritual stirring in desperate hours is this key of faith. It unlocks heaven’s door. It brings the blessing. This particular verse becomes the basis for the Church Reformation in history. Habakkuk has even been called the grandfather of the Reformation.

Theme of Habakkuk – Faith

We need faith as much in this hour as Habakkuk did in his hour. I believe the great theme of this book is that faith has to govern every area of your life. My life verse is Galatians 2:20, where Paul wrote, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

We are all living in the flesh today. If you are breathing right now, you are living in the flesh. Do not merely live in the flesh; live by faith. It is the only way to keep your joy. It is the only way to see God in the midst of the circumstances.

The Questioning Prophet

Habakkuk has been called by some “the questioning prophet.”

His question was this: Will God right the wrongs? It was not merely personal problems he was dealing with. It was a national problem that Babylon, a wicked nation, was overthrowing God’s chosen people, the land of Judah. How could that be? Sometimes, when there is no logical answer, you have to acknowledge the spiritual answer. The spiritual answer is that sometimes only God has the answer. Sometimes you cannot figure it all out. Maybe that is where you are living today. What should you do? Take these words: “The just shall live by his faith.”

From a Sob to a Song

One of the amazing features of the book of Habakkuk is that it opens with a sob. We find Habakkuk weeping over the condition of his people. Habakkuk 1:1-2: “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!” The book begins with a sob.

However, it ends with a song. When you come to the end of the book, to Habakkuk 3:19, the closing verse, you read: “The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”

How do you go from a sob to a song? Faith is the bridge between the two. It is why John wrote in the New Testament, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4) Maybe you are brokenhearted, weeping, and sobbing. Today, the Lord can put a song back in your heart if you will learn today to live by faith in God.

From Sighing, to Seeing, to Singing 

We all have our doubts and questions. As you progress through this book, you see a lot of them.

• Habakkuk 1 opens with the burden – faith sighing.
• Habakkuk 2 reveals a vision –  faith seeing.
• Habakkuk 3 concludes with a prayer – faith singing.

Do you see the progression? We bring our burden to the Lord; we get a fresh glimpse of Him. In the presence of God in the prayer closet, alone with a righteous God, the Lord restores your song. He puts joy back in your heart.

Habakkuk reveals what you do while you are waiting to see what God will do. Habakkuk did not have all the answers. He just knew God was working. Maybe that is your situation. You are waiting to see what God willdo. What can you do in the meantime? Do what Habakkuk did.

Three Steps to Take While Waiting on God

Talk to God

This book opens with a prayer, and you find prayer throughout it. As a matter of fact, about two-thirds of the Book of Habakkuk is a conversation between the writer and God. He did the right thing. Instead of talking to everybody else about his concerns and complaints, he turned that into prayer. He sent his conversation heavenward. We are so apt to talk to everybody else about our problems, but they cannot resolve our troubles; only God can. Talk to God about it.

Wait on God

That is the essence of faith. “The just shall live by his faith.” Wait on God. Go back to what you know for sure. Read the Book of Habakkuk and see how he rehearses the very character and nature of God. Everything around you may be changing, but God is always the same. Watch and pray. Wait and give God time to work.

Rejoice in God

This is the greatest expression of faith. The circumstances have not changed. Babylon is still threatening, but the prophet chooses to rejoice. He even declared in Habakkuk 3:18: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” 

Maybe you do not feel like rejoicing today, but remember, Christian joy is not a matter of emotion. It is a matter of will. Choose to rejoice. When you exercise your will, your emotions catch up. Rejoice that God is on the throne, that if He does what you ask Him to, or if He chooses to do something totally different, that the same God who worked in the past, in your life, and in our land is going to work in the future.

You see Christ all through this book. He is the one who justifies by faith. In chapter Habakkuk 2:20, He is the Lord in His holy temple. In Habakkuk 3:18, He is the God of my salvation. Go back to what you know for sure. What you know for sure is that there is a God, and you can trust him. “The just shall live by his faith.”

*To listen to Dr. Pauley’s verse-by-verse audio series on Habakkuk, click HERE.

About Scott Pauley

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