During the times of Habakkuk, the Prophet, the nation of Israel had turned from the Lord and was living far from the ways of God. The Prophet was definitely in distress over this state of affairs and we see him clinging to God (as his name suggests) with his pleas, prayer and praise as seen in the three chapters.

The third chapter has a mood of praise unlike the other gloomy two. Here we see the Prophet having mulled over what God had spoken to him, responding in great confidence in the words of a song. The present may be filled with wickedness and chaos, but the future belongs to the righteous- the truly righteous. God will bring in His kingdom, give rest and salvation to His children, and judge His people’s adversaries. [Notes on Habakkuk: NKJV Study Bible]

So no matter how desperate the situation looked now, the Prophet said: “Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation!”  Habakkuk’s confidence lay in the trust in the God of the Past, Present and Future. 

 

1. He reflected on the awesomeness/majesty of God- how great He is!

His brilliant splendour fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise. His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden. (Hab. 3:3-4). 

When we understand how big God is and how small we and our problems are, it gives the calm within us that He is in total control of every situation! See how the Psalmist says in Psalm 8:3-4 

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,….What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”

 

2. He was reminded of the mighty acts of God on behalf of His people (Hab. 3:3-15)

Habakkuk had heard of how God had delivered His people from the hands of Pharaoh and done mighty acts on their behalf. He asks God to remember His people in the midst of the calamity that would come upon them- “In wrath remember mercy” (Hab. 3:2). We too can plead to the Lord for His mercy for ourselves and others when we go through trying times- some caused by our own doing or otherwise. Lamentations 3: 22-23 says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
 

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3. He rested in faith in a God who delivers (Hab.3:17-19)

There is the exuberant confession of faith from Habakkuk in these lines: Yet I will rejoice! Despite the barrenness of the present, he was filled with hope in the God of his salvation- He would strengthen his weak feet to stand on heights! What assurance! In trying times, we too can have the faith that God will save us and deliver us. In 2Cor.1:10  Paul so confidently says that God “…who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us…”

 

Without faith and hope, the Christian life would be empty. The righteous shall live by faith( Hab.2:4)- a faith in God from beginning to end. Romans 8:24 says, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?” Let our constant faith in God who brought us salvation through Jesus Christ and the hope of eternally being with Him press us on in our Christian walk.
 

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Thought for the Day:

“Without Christ, there is no hope.”  ~ Charles Spurgeon

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LISTEN- "TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS"