Make It Make Sense || Pastor Brandon Blair

Devotional

Day 1: Anchoring in God’s Everlasting Nature

When life’s chaos feels like a collapsing play, Habakkuk clings to God’s eternal perspective. The prophet declares God’s timelessness – He sees beginnings, middles, and ends simultaneously, like a coach orchestrating unseen strategies. This truth anchors us when immediate circumstances overwhelm. Just as the football team’s confusion gave way to victory through the coach’s hidden plan, God’s everlasting nature means He’s already in our future while holding our present. His permanence outlasts every temporary storm. [01:09:15]

“Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die.” (Habakkuk 1:12, ESV)

Reflection: What current situation feels like a collapsing “a gap” play? How does God’s view of your life’s timeline differ from your limited perspective?

Day 2: Wrestling with God’s Methods, Not His Motives

Habakkuk’s raw questions reveal faith’s tension – trusting God’s heart while struggling with His hands. The prophet compares Judah’s suffering to fish scooped violently into Babylonian nets, asking why a holy God permits this. Like a running back questioning repeated failed plays, we often see only the immediate chaos. Yet God invites our honest frustrations, not performative piety. The altar, not social media, becomes the place to process confusion without panic. [01:18:50]

“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” (Habakkuk 1:13, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been pretending “everything’s fine” rather than honestly bringing your “why them?” questions to God?

Day 3: The Danger of Worshiping Our Own Nets

Babylon’s fatal error wasn’t their violence but their vanity – sacrificing to their military nets as divine providers. Modern believers face similar traps, idolizing careers, bank accounts, or self-sufficiency as saviors. Like the football player tempted to quit when plays fail, we often prefer visible nets (control, success) over invisible sovereignty. True faith releases our death-grip on temporary solutions to grasp eternal salvation. [01:25:10]

“They sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their dragnet, for by these their portion is fat, and their food plentiful.” (Habakkuk 1:16, ESV)

Reflection: What “net” (strategy, resource, or ability) have you unconsciously treated as a savior? How does this compete with total dependence on Christ?

Day 4: Trusting the Father’s Restoration in Life’s Mess

The car engine analogy reframes life’s breakdowns – what seems destructive is often redemptive. A child sees dismantled parts as ruin; the mechanic sees necessary restoration. Our limited perspective mistakes God’s dismantling of harmful systems (in us or society) as chaos rather than healing. Like Habakkuk watching Judah’s judgment, we’re called to trust the Mechanic over the mess. [01:30:31]

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, ESV)

Reflection: What current “dismantling” in your life feels destructive? How might God be restoring something you can’t yet see?

Day 5: Sovereignty in the Storm: God’s Permissive Will

Habakkuk’s crisis reveals God’s counterintuitive governance – using wicked nations as tools without endorsing their evil. Like a coach allowing tackles to strengthen the team, God permits temporary trials to accomplish eternal purposes. His sovereignty means no crisis is accidental, no pain is wasted, and no enemy operates beyond His leash. Our task isn’t to coach God but to trust His playbook. [01:13:32]

“I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7, ESV)

Reflection: What current “Babylon” (difficulty, person, or system) feels out of God’s control? How does His permissive will reshape your view of this storm?

Sermon Summary

Habakkuk stands in the place where faith is real and life does not make sense. Habakkuk has cried out over violence, corruption, compromise, and wickedness in Judah, and God has answered with something that shocks him. God is not sending the answer Habakkuk expected. God is raising up Babylon for judgment, and Habakkuk is left saying, “Lord, make it make sense.”

The football picture of the same play getting crushed over and over, then the sudden flea flicker, shows how easy it is for man to think he can coach better than the coach. The deeper danger comes when man thinks he can God better than God. God is good at being God, and man makes a terrible god.

Habakkuk begins with the foundation of faith. Habakkuk does not start with what he does not understand. Habakkuk starts with who God is. God is everlasting, not bound by time, seeing the beginning, middle, and end all at once. God is personal, not some distant deity or “the man upstairs,” but “my God.” God is holy, with eyes too pure to behold evil. God is mighty, the same God who parted seas, shut lions’ mouths, fed multitudes, raised Jesus, and still sits on the throne. God is sovereign, ordaining and establishing even what wicked men mean for evil, and God never wastes anything.

Habakkuk also shows the frustration of faith. Habakkuk asks why God looks on treachery and seems silent while the wicked devour those more righteous than themselves. The net and drag picture Babylon scooping Judah up like helpless fish, pulling them out of safety and into suffering. Faith does not have to pretend everything is fine. Faith does not have to panic either. Faith pours the frustration out to the One who can actually do something about it.

Babylon becomes the fear of faith. Babylon does not merely use its power. Babylon worships it. The net becomes its god, its provider, its deliverer, its identity. The same warning lands on every lesser source of security: net worth, career, ministry success, political influence, or the ability to make it happen. When the net becomes the source, incense is burning to the dragnet.

The father working on the car gives the closing picture. The child sees a mess and thinks the car is being torn apart. The father sees the hidden problem and says, “I’m not destroying it. I’m restoring it.” God’s ways may look like a mess from underneath, but his plan is perfect, his hands are steady, and his work will make sense in the end.

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Key Takeaways

1. Declare who before asking why Faith becomes steady when God’s character comes before the question. God is everlasting, personal, holy, mighty, and sovereign, so confusion does not get the first word. The name of God becomes the ground under trembling feet, even while the ache of “why” remains real. [74:37]
2. God’s goodness stands under loss God is good when the answer is yes, when the answer is wait, and when the answer is no. God’s goodness is not measured by the comfort of the moment, because his character does not rise and fall with circumstances. The valley does not cancel his goodness, and the mountaintop does not create it. [66:57]
3. Frustration belongs on the altar Habakkuk brings his frustration to God without pretending and without panic. Frustration becomes dangerous when it hardens into distance, but it becomes prayer when it is poured out before the Lord. The altar is a better place than a public outburst, because God can handle the weight and actually redeem it. [82:44]
4. The net must not become god The net is the thing that seems to provide, protect, and prove worth. Babylon worshiped its net, and the same idolatry shows up when security rests in money, control, success, or influence. The gift becomes deadly when it replaces the Giver. [84:49]
5. The Father restores hidden damage The garage picture shows a child seeing scattered tools and assuming destruction. The Father sees the deep problem under the hood and works toward restoration that the child cannot yet understand. The mess is not proof that God has failed, because his hands may be repairing what human eyes cannot see.

## [90:16]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[57:27] - Habakkuk 1 and Make It Make Sense
[59:57] - The Football Play That Did Not Make Sense
[63:28] - Habakkuk’s World Looks Like Ours
[65:29] - The Foundation of Faith
[66:28] - God Is Good All the Time
[69:01] - Anchored in God’s Character
[75:21] - The Frustration of Faith
[76:53] - Babylon’s Net and Judah’s Suffering
[79:22] - Do Not Pretend, Do Not Panic
[83:25] - The Fear of Faith
[84:49] - Worshiping the Net
[89:39] - The Father Restoring the Car
[91:29] - Invitation to Trust Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Habakkuk 1:12-17
“Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?” [57:27]

Habakkuk 1:2-4
“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.”

Genesis 50:20
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Observation questions

In Habakkuk 1:12, what names and descriptions does Habakkuk use for God before he brings his hard questions? [01:14:37]
In Habakkuk 1:13-15, what picture does Habakkuk use to describe what Babylon is doing to people, and what does that picture show about their helplessness? [01:16:53]
According to Habakkuk 1:16, what does Babylon do with its net and dragnet, and what does that reveal about what Babylon trusts? [01:24:49]
Looking at Habakkuk 1:2-4 and 1:13, what kinds of evil and injustice are troubling Habakkuk in both parts of the chapter?

Interpretation questions

Habakkuk begins with who God is before asking why God is acting this way. Why does that order matter when someone is confused, hurt, or waiting on God? [01:09:01]
Habakkuk knows God is holy and yet asks why God seems silent while the wicked devour those more righteous than themselves. What does that tension show about the real struggle of faith? [01:15:21]
Habakkuk says God has ordained Babylon for judgment, and Genesis 50:20 says that what people mean for evil God can mean for good. How should that shape the way suffering and evil are understood without calling evil good? [01:13:14]
Babylon did not only use its power; it worshiped it. Why is it so easy for good gifts like strength, success, money, or influence to become a false savior in a person’s heart? [01:25:45]

Application questions

When life does not make sense, what “why” question tends to rise up first in the heart? What would it look like this week to start with “who God is” before staying with that “why”? [01:14:47]
God’s goodness does not change when circumstances do. Where is it hardest right now to believe that God is still good—loss, disappointment, waiting, fear, or something else? [01:06:57]
Frustration becomes dangerous when it turns into distance from God. When frustration shows up, is there a tendency to pretend everything is fine, to panic, or to pour it out before the Lord? What usually pushes the heart in that direction? [01:19:22]
“The net” can be anything that seems to provide security, identity, or control. What is most tempting right now to treat like a net—income, reputation, relationships, ministry results, political hopes, or the ability to fix things personally? [01:26:04]
Some people are comfortable trusting God with eternity but not with today’s details. Where is control being held most tightly right now, and what makes that area hard to surrender? [01:27:29]
The child in the garage saw a mess, but the father saw hidden damage and a plan for restoration. Is there any part of life right now that feels torn apart, where it may be hard to believe God is restoring rather than ruining? [01:30:16]
Habakkuk brought hard questions directly to God. What would it look like this week to bring one specific burden to the altar instead of carrying it alone or broadcasting it elsewhere? [01:23:03]

Sermon Clips

45s

“Habakkuk isn't doubting God's motives. He's wrestling with his methods. You've been there before? Like, you know God is good all the time. All the time. God is good. You believe that. You trust that. You shout that, you proclaim that, you sing that. But sometimes the way God goes about it frustrates you. Lord, make it make sense. The nets keep filling. The wicked seem to prosper. The righteous continue to suffer. Lord, make it make sense.”

74s

“Listen. Don't panic. Fox News or CNN makes an announcement about this world, you ain't gotta panic. You say, well, the world's out of control. God's in complete control. Don't you panic one He's in control of the world and he's in control of your world. You say, well, what do I do, preacher? If I'm not going to pretend and I'm not gonna panic, what do I do? I'm thankful that you asked. Pour it out. Just like Habakkuk does here. Pour it out. Not on Facebook, but on the altar. Give it to someone who can actually do something about it. He can handle your frustration.”

58s

“never waste anything. What the enemy means for evil, our sovereign God means it for good. Church, start here. When you're when you're when you're confused, when you're doubting, when you're when you're worried, start here. Before you ask your why, declare who? That's a word. Who is God? He is everlasting. He is personal. He is holy. He is mighty. He is sovereign. Build your life on this. Build your beliefs on this. Build your family on this. Build your church on this, and build your future on this foundation faith. The foundation of faith.”

51s

“You say, well, pastor b, that's silly. Is it though? Many of you do the exact same thing. You sacrifice to your own nets. Your net worth, your career, your hobbies, your bank account, your ministry success, your political influence, your ability to make it happen. And when those things become your source of security and identity, you my friend are burning incense to the dragnet.”

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