10/21/07 - Pentecost 21 - Hab. 1:1-3,2:1-4

THE LORD KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING
- He always has a plan
- We are always to trust him

Why? That’s a popular question when it comes to life, isn’t it? Why did this happen? Why did that happen? Why did God allow this tragedy to strike? Why is the Lord doing this to me right now? Why does God permit these things to continue? It’s in our nature to always want to know what’s going on, to always need a reason, to always ask for an explanation. The problem is: God doesn’t always tell us why. He tells us the what, but not always the why or the how. That frustrates you, doesn’t it? It frustrates you that the Lord doesn’t let you in on all his secrets and intentions and plans. But although you may not always know why things happen in this life, you can be sure of this: the Lord knows what he’s doing. He always has a plan. And you are always to trust him.
The prophet Habakkuk struggled with this very thing. And isn’t it a relief to know that even though the Old Testament prophets were great men of faith called on to do monumental work, they were still a lot like us? The prophet Habakkuk is no exception. He too was frustrated about being left in the dark when it came to God’s plans. Habakkuk lived just a few years before Jerusalem was destroyed. He served God’s people during a time of spiritual depravity and an uncertain future. And the three short chapters of his unique book reflect that. It’s a unique book because unlike most of the other prophetic books, he doesn’t speak directly to the people of Israel or Judah at all. And he doesn’t specifically call down curses on the Lord’s enemies so that they might hear them and repent either. The book of Habakkuk is personal. It is an insight into the very heart of one of God’s faithful servants. Habakkuk talks to God and God talks to him. This book is really a conversation that ends with a prayer of praise. But what does the conversation between Habakkuk and the Lord revolve around? The question “Why?”
In the first part of our text today Habakkuk is fed up with the children of Israel. They were rejecting the Lord, living in sin, and refusing to listen to the Word. Habakkuk wanted to know why the Lord was putting up with it, why the Lord was making him watch the effects of unbelief destroy the sheep that were under his care. Listen to these words of one of Israel’s caring shepherds agonizing over the state of his flock. “How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.” God doesn’t usually answer our “why” questions, but he answered Habakkuk’s. And he answered him in this way: “I know what I’m doing, Habakkuk. I have a plan. In fact, I’ll even share part of that plan with you.”
God’s answer to Habakkuk wasn’t included in our Old Testament reading this morning, but it is important. In between the 1st section of our text in chapter one and the 2nd in chapter two, God let’s Habakkuk know that his plan is to send the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and take the people into exile. Justice would be served. Sin would not be tolerated. “Don’t worry, Habakkuk. I know what I’m doing.” But Habakkuk wasn’t satisfied with that. “Lord,” Habakkuk replies, “why are you raising up the Babylonians? You have told me that you have set them aside to bring punishment on your people. But they’re even worse than your people! They are more wicked and even deeper in sin. Why would you allow such a heathen country destroy your chosen nation?” And this is where the 2nd part of our text picks up. After Habakkuk asks this second why question he says, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give when he rebukes me.”
And so as Habakkuk stands on the ramparts - the mound of earth leading up to the outside of the walls for defense - the Lord gives him this answer: “I know what I’m doing. I have a plan. And I’ll even tell you part of this plan as well.” The Lord then makes it clear to Habakkuk that although the Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem, they would be destroyed themselves. He would one day punish them for their sins and justice would again be carried out. Sin would not be tolerated.
And so years before any of these events ever happened, God revealed to Habakkuk that Israel’s sins would be punished, the Babylonians would receive what they deserved, and in the end he would use this entire episode to bring his people back to repentance and get them ready for the coming Messiah. The Lord knew what he was doing all along. The Lord still knows what he’s doing. He still has a plan. Even for you.
God has a plan for you. And no matter what happens to you in this life he will work everything out according to that plan. David says in Psalm 139, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (v.16). That also applies to you. Every day, every hour, every minute of your life is already written down. That doesn’t mean the Lord forces you to do whatever he wants. It simply means he knows what is going to happen. And since he knows what is going to happen, he will work it out for your good and according to his gracious plan. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11). The Lord’s plan for you involves giving you hope. The Lord’s plan for you involves giving you a future. His plan is to save you and so that is what he has done. His plan is to protect you and so that’s what he does every day. His plan is for you to live with him in heaven forever and so that is what he’ll do. These are his plans for you according to Scripture. And you can be sure that nothing will hinder him from carrying them out. The Lord knows what he’s doing. He always has a plan. And we are always to trust that he does.
Habakkuk had a hard time trusting in the Lord at first. There he is, standing on the ramparts, the defensive fortifications of the city, built up to fend off enemy attacks, and the Lord has just told him that the Babylonians would completely destroy the city anyway. And Habakkuk knew what kind of people the Babylonians were. They were warriors whose “horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk… They fly like a vulture swooping to devour; they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand” (Hab. 1:8,9). These were kind of people about to destroy the Israelites. And Habakkuk was thinking: How could that possibly turn out for our good? How could the Lord’s love still prevail if he would allow these things to happen? That’s why Habakkuk kept asking “Why?” He didn’t understand. He couldn’t see how it would all turn out. He was worried and concerned about what would happen in the near future. Aren’t we all like Habakkuk?
We have been told over and over again that the Lord will work out all things for the good of those who love him. We know that the Lord always protects us. We have read how the Lord keeps us in the palm of his hand. But when something terrible happens we act as if we haven’t learned a thing! When something unpleasant occurs we act as if we may have read the words of God but we didn’t really believe them. A tragic car accident, a long drawn-out illness, financial difficulties, injuries, the questionable future of your job, the never-ending friction with a family member… When these things happen or when these things continue to happen over and over again we start to ask “Why? Why are these things happening? How is the Lord going to work them out for my good? What am I supposed to learn from these things - again? How can the Lord possibly make these things turn out according to his plan?” What an unstable faith we have! We are so influenced and blown by the wind by the things that happen around us that we forget the Lord knows what he’s doing! He has a plan and we are simply to trust him! It is not our place to question and pry and worry for an answer. God is not obligated to answer us. He is not under contract to tell us why and how and when. We are really very haughty people, aren’t we? We think we have the right to know what is going on - as if we deserve to be informed. The Lord doesn’t owe us a thing! But he speaks to us nevertheless. He says the same thing to us in his Word that he said to Habakkuk: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Habakkuk didn’t know exactly how the Lord would accomplish what he had promised. He didn’t know how or why some of those things would happen. But the Lord said, “That shouldn’t surprise you. Because the righteous will live by faith.” And remember what the book of Hebrews says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). We are not going to clearly see every plan of the Lord carried out in our lives. We are not going to be given insights into every one of God’s motives and actions. But that shouldn’t surprise you. That shouldn’t worry you at all. Because the righteous - Christians - will live by faith. We believe in what God will do. And we believe in what God has already done.
We put our trust in what God has already done. That is important. Because whatever he does for us now and whatever he does for us in the future, is based on what he has done for us in the past. Do you believe that Jesus came to this earth as a human being? Do you believe that he was tempted to sin but overcame every temptation? Do you believe that he kept every one of God’s commandments perfectly without every stumbling? Do you believe he was arrested, ridiculed, and tortured to fulfill the prophecies of Scripture? Do you believe that he was crucified on the cross to die in your place? Do you believe he suffered the eternal punishments of hell itself as your substitute? Do you believe that God died? Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Do you believe that he is your Savior? If you believe what Christ has done in the past, you should have every reason to believe what he does for you now. If you believe what Christ has done for you in the past, you should not doubt what he promises to do for you in the future. If you believe what Christ has done for you in the past, you will live with him - forever.
Chapter 3 of the book of Habakkuk demonstrates this unwavering faith in the Lord. He asked and wondered and listened in the first two chapters, but then he ends the book with a beautiful prayer of praise. And notice that he still doesn’t fully understand God’s plans. He doesn’t see the results of the Lord’s promises to him - and yet he believes. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights” (Hab. 3:17-19). This is a faith of a Christian. A faith that doesn’t need proof, but only God’s Word of promise.
And that is what we cling to as well. We may not ever see God’s hand in certain things that happen to us. We may not ever look back on a situation and know how God turned that out for our good. But he promises that he will. And he has proved that he will work everything for our good by dying on the cross. He has saved you already. He has given you heaven already. He has guaranteed eternity already. That is his ultimate plan. And you already know it! And if he has done such great things for you already, he will certainly not let you down now. The Lord always has a plan. Trust that the Lord can accomplish that plan and even more - because this is your gracious, compassionate, loving, forgiving, merciful Lord we’re talking about here. And he knows what he’s doing.
Amen.

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Rom. 11:33-36)