Faith Amidst Doubt: Trusting God in Suffering

But this is what makes Habakkuk so remarkable. And it's what we can learn from Habakkuk today. Because when Habakkuk is asking how long, when he's looking around at the brokenness and the pain that he sees, the suffering that he is up close and personal with, he doesn't take that and turn away from God in doubt, but rather he turns towards God with his doubt. He moves towards God with his doubt. And that is the difference between despair and faith. [00:22:45] (38 seconds)  #DoubtDrawsUsCloser

A modern, contemporary Western mind might say, because I can't understand God, he must not exist. Habakkuk says, because I cannot understand God, I have to move closer to him. In other words, biblical faith doesn't ever give us easy answers. It gives us a relationship that can handle the hard questions. [00:29:16] (32 seconds)  #FaithEmbracesMystery

Habakkuk is learning something here. He's learning how to move from control to trust. He's learning how to move from sight to faith. And that's what he means when he says in chapter two, verse four, one of the most important verses in the Bible. Do you know that? Habakkuk 2, the righteous will live by faith. By faith, he says. And that single line will later come to define the entire Gospel. It will come to define what it means to be a follower of Jesus. [00:34:47] (43 seconds)  #TrustInTheCross

The cross shows us that God doesn't avoid the problem of evil. He enters into it. He doesn't explain it away. He bears it. He bears it. So when we look at the world and say, God, how could you possibly use that? How could that suffering possibly make any sense? How could that unanswered prayer possibly be any good? God points to the cross and he says, look, I already did. I already showed you. I already demonstrated. [00:37:31] (31 seconds)  #FaithInQuestions

So what does that mean for us today to live by faith? How do we put that into practice in the real world, with real suffering, with real challenges? The first thing that we do is this. We bring our questions to God, not our conclusions. Bring our questions to God, not our conclusions. In other words, I come to God with my doubts. Pretending like I don't have doubts is not the answer. Pretending like I don't have questions is not the answer. Faithful living means bringing my doubts, bringing my questions, bringing my anger, bringing my hurt to God, moving towards God with them instead of walking away with them. Habakkuk's honesty is itself an act of worship and trust. [00:38:42] (48 seconds)  #DefiantJoyInFaith

Habakkuk begins with a cry and ends with a song. He moves from how long, O Lord, to yet even so will I rejoice. From confusion to confidence. And that is the journey of every believer, every one of us who follows Jesus by faith. [00:41:53] (29 seconds)

Faith doesn't mean that you see everything clearly. Faith doesn't mean that you have everything figured out, that you know all of the the answers, that everything makes sense. It means that you've seen enough of God's goodness in Jesus to trust him with what you don't even yet understand. [00:42:22] (20 seconds)

When the fig tree doesn't blossom, when Babylon seems to win, when your prayers are unanswered or unheard, you can still say, the sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the deer's and he enables me to tread on the heights. That's Faith in the dark. That's the gospel according to Habakkuk. [00:42:42] (29 seconds)