Greg King joined us in camp this morning to lead us through our final Group Bible Study of 2021 MSC Senior Week. Below are a few take away’s from his lesson on Faith Over Fear:
Have you ever wondered why things happen the way that they do? Sometimes we want to know why – Have you ever wanted to ask God, “Why”?
Habakkuk 1:1-4
Notice the 2 questions posed here are “How long shall I cry for help” and “Why do you make me see iniquity? Habakkuk has been praying for his people and for the morality of the Nation, but he feels like nothing is happening. These people who are supposed to be the Holy people of God are filled with violence, sins and injustice. Habakkuk says that all he sees is destruction, violence, strife and contention. There appears to be no justice. The righteous are surrounded by the wicked. Habakkuk’s cry seems simple enough – “How long are you going to let this go on, Lord”? Have you ever asked that same question?
We learn that true faith sometimes finds itself puzzled by God. The faithful do not know all the answers.. Spiritual beings do not have all of the answers. Being a follower of Jesus does not mean that we will have all of the answers. We must not think there is something wrong or that we are thinking inappropriately when we have these kinds of questions for God.
Job had the same questions for God in Job 21:7-34. To Habakkuk it feels like God simply isn’t listening or isn’t doing anything. Habakkuk shows us that we can have an honest conversation with God – God can handle our raw emotions. It’s okay to turn to God and tell him that we don’t understand. Habakkuk talks to God about these things – he does NOT leave or turn from God.
False Reason for Faith: It is important to see that Habakkuk’s faith is not “Everything happens for a reason” which is a common explanation of some today. When we don’t understand something, that is often the explanation we come up with.
Turn to God: The answer is Turn to God. Habakkuk teaches us not to come up with false reasons that soothe our minds temporarily, but to turn to the Lord. We need to understand that God is all-knowing and all-powerful. Never forget the love he demonstrated for you on the Cross.
In the case of Habakkuk, God answers and tells him what he is doing. God is about to bring judgement upon the nation of his people because of their unfaithfulness. After hearing this answer, Habakkuk offers a prayer to the Lord. Habakkuk begins by thinking about the past – by remembering the works that God has done. Read Habakkuk 3:2.
Full Faith: The last 4 verses reveal the faith and emotions of Habakkuk. Habakkuk revealed and his prayer that when he heard God’s message of judgment, his body terminal, his lips quivered, his legs trembled, and rottenness entered his bones. Habakkuk was distraught at the news. Habakkuk was not causal in his faith and knowledge of God, but he also isn’t Superman with Super Faith. He heard the words of what God was doing and he could hardly stand. The message took his breath away.
Notice the end of V16. “Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Can you imagine saying these words? The day of trouble is coming. We are going to be invaded. My fear is to the extreme.
Habakkuk understands the total loss that is about to occur. For the figtree not the blossoming means not only is there no food now, there is no food coming future. Habakkuk shows total faith in verses 18 -19. Though everything will be lost, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the Lord of my salvation”. An important thing to note here is that Habakkuk does not say he will hang in there as best he can through the term well. Habakkuk says he will rejoice in the. He says that he will take joy in God it is a completely different attitude than what we often have when facing suffering and trials.
Can we say what Habakkuk said? Even fear of our suffering, can we trust God to get us through and rejoice in the fact that God will carry us through? If not, then we have fear over faith and not faith over fear.
We have two choices. You can rely on yourself and do things your own way & be crushed by life. Or, we can trust God completely. We can stop trusting ourselves. Stop trusting in our intelligence. We can get out of the start walking on water by faith. Trust God and find your joy and strength in him do not let your joy and strength be found in other things. Christ must be our treasure. Christ must be our all. If our life is cut up and everything else but our Lord, we will not make it when life does not go according to plan. We have a relationship with God that allows us to rise above our fear and learn to trust in him we love.
