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[0:00] Habakkuk chapter 1, I'm reading from verses 12 to 17.! This is God's holy word. Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, the Holy One?

[0:16] ! We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.

[0:27] 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 a man more righteous than he?

[0:42] 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.

[0:53] He gathers them in his dragnet. So he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet.

[1:06] 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?

[1:18] Amen. You may be seated. Let's hear the word of God preached. Well, we come now to the second round of this Q&A between Habakkuk and God.

[1:35] Habakkuk had basically two questions for God in the first back and forth exchange, back in verses 1-4. He was asking, why are you not upholding justice?

[1:49] And will you eventually uphold it? Those are the two questions that we saw in verses 1-4. And God answered them then in verses 5-11.

[2:00] He answered both questions. Question number one, why are you not upholding justice? To which God said, well, I am. I am bringing the Chaldeans to execute my judgment on Judah.

[2:14] And question number two, when will you uphold it? To which God said, very soon and very suddenly. In Habakkuk's day. Verse 5 says that.

[2:26] I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. God was raising up the Chaldeans. And they would come and invade and conquer so very soon.

[2:37] And so very suddenly. How is it that God described them? Sweeping by like the wind and going on. Verse 11 says. So God was very gracious.

[2:49] God was very merciful to Habakkuk and to the people of Judah. He answered Habakkuk's questions. Even as Habakkuk came complaining to God, God still patiently answered him.

[3:03] And it wasn't just for Habakkuk's sake that God gave him an answer. It was for the sake of all of Judah. Here was a warning. The Babylonians are coming.

[3:14] And it's obvious what Judah ought to do. Repent. Turn from your wicked ways. That's the very reason that Habakkuk had first questioned God. He's seeing the wicked ways of God's people.

[3:26] He's seeing all of the sin of his own nation. And Habakkuk is in great distress. Yes. It's supremely troubling to him. These questions themselves aren't wrong.

[3:39] They are very understandable questions. How Habakkuk asked those questions matters. We saw that in verses 1-4. Just like how we ask God questions matters.

[3:50] But these questions make sense. And when Habakkuk is surveying the sinful state of Judah around him, he can't make sense of why God is allowing such sin and how long God would allow it.

[4:04] Well, God then gave his answers very clearly, very directly addressing Habakkuk's questions. This is no politician's response in verses 5-11.

[4:16] God is not tiptoeing around an answer. He's not obfuscating. He's not redirecting. He's not thanking Habakkuk for the good question. And then ignoring the question and sharing his favorite talking points.

[4:28] God is clear. God is patient. He gives this full, robust answer. I'm sending the Babylonians. And they're coming in your days.

[4:40] So very soon, their armies will be sweeping through the land, executing my justice. So Habakkuk has been given this clear, full insight into the plans and the purposes of God.

[4:56] God has revealed what will happen to Habakkuk. But while it puts one concern to rest then for Habakkuk, it raises another. Kids, have you ever played whack-a-mole?

[5:10] You know how it is? There's one mole that you hit with a mallet. And right after you hit the one mole, another pops up. It's a little like that for Habakkuk. Two questions were answered.

[5:21] But the answers to those questions lead to another question entirely. Which is this. Really? The Chaldeans? God, how can the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, be the instrument of your justice?

[5:37] When they themselves are so very sinful. So that's the question that Habakkuk raises in our verses this morning. And we're going to unpack this by breaking up our passage into two headings.

[5:51] First, we will see Habakkuk's confidence in God. And then second, we will see Habakkuk's confusion about God. So first, let's see his confidence in God.

[6:04] And let's read again, beginning in verse 12. So, are you not from everlasting? O Lord, my God, my Holy One, we shall not die.

[6:17] 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.

[6:30] Now, let's remember back to Habakkuk's first complaint. We saw in verses 2 to 4 that his tone was troubling. That he addressed God much like Job addressed God.

[6:44] Demanding answers, making accusations. But we see growth here. From his first round of questions to his second. Perhaps in hearing from God, Habakkuk has then been softened some in his heart.

[6:57] Because there is now a confidence in God that was entirely lacking in verses 2 to 4. In those earlier verses, Habakkuk is at his wit's end.

[7:08] Habakkuk is beside himself. And it's clear that he thinks, God, you're failing. How long shall I cry for help and you will not hear?

[7:20] Or cry violence and you will not save? Why are you making me see iniquity? And why do you idly look at wrong?

[7:34] God, where are you? God, what are you doing? How can you abandon me like this? That's where Habakkuk is in his first round of questions. But there's a definite change here in round 2.

[7:47] There's this growth in grace. And we see it here as Habakkuk, for the first time, remembers who God is. Verses 2 to 4. He's forgotten who God is.

[7:58] Who God is is far from his mind. But here, beginning in verse 12, we see these three attributes of God that Habakkuk recalls. The eternality of God.

[8:09] The sovereignty of God. And the purity of God. This is a wonderfully good starting point for Habakkuk. He's heard from God and immediately he rehearses back to God who God is.

[8:23] Now he frames it as a question. We see that in verse 12. Are you not from everlasting? Well, of course God is from everlasting. Habakkuk knows this. He isn't asking God to clarify that.

[8:36] He's not double-checking with God. Now remind me again. You're eternal, right? This is not what's happening. It's this rhetorical question that Habakkuk is making for effect.

[8:47] It's this strong affirmation that's wrapped up in a question. Habakkuk is as much comforting himself with this truth as he is rehearsing it back to God. He's reassured as he remembers, Yes, God, you are from everlasting.

[9:02] Perhaps I had forgotten that before. But I remember now. You are from everlasting. You have no beginning. You are the uncreated one.

[9:13] As the very first words of our Bibles say, Kids, can you recall Genesis 1-1? In the beginning, God. Pause there. God already existed in the beginning.

[9:26] He was already there. Before the beginning began, God existed. Before time began, He existed. He has forever existed. And He will forever exist.

[9:39] And He's alone in this. Nothing and no one can claim to be eternal. Yes, you and I will live forever now with our undying souls, but we all had a beginning.

[9:54] There was a time when you and I did not exist, but not so with God. He is the uncreated, eternal one. So there is none before Him.

[10:05] And there's none above Him. We see this in verse 12 as well. God is sovereign over all. He rules and He reigns over all His creation with complete, meticulous control.

[10:23] He brings to pass all that He wills. His every plan from eternity past, He brings to pass. He plans all that comes to pass.

[10:36] We see Habakkuk recognizing this as he says, you have ordained them as a judgment. You have established them for reproof.

[10:48] He's talking about the Babylonians. God is going to use them to discipline His people. And it's all a part of His eternal plan. This is not God making a split-second decision.

[11:01] This is not God just kind of working with what He's been given, working with the hand that He's been dealt. God is not reactionary. God is not surprised.

[11:14] God is sovereign. God is sovereign over all of human history. He's sovereign over every moment of human history, over every event of human history. And Habakkuk acknowledges that.

[11:26] This too. God, You have brought to pass. This is part of Your eternal plan. Habakkuk gets this. That's why he uses those words. Ordained.

[11:38] Established. The NIV says appointed. All of these words are getting at that truth, that God is sovereign. He decrees what will happen. He determines an eternity past what will happen, and then He brings it to pass.

[11:52] We call this His providence. What He says He will do, He does. He has a plan. He executes that plan. He decrees and He directs.

[12:02] And so He decreed the Babylonians. And now He's directing them. I've raised them up. Here they come. So God isn't reacting to those Babylonians.

[12:14] It's not as though the Babylonians were already marching towards Judah, and God is thinking, well now how can I use them since they're already on their way? Oh, I know what I'll do.

[12:25] Since they're coming, I'll discipline my people with them. No, God says in verse 5, I'm doing a work in your days. I am raising up the Chaldeans.

[12:36] Not reacting to the Chaldeans. I'm raising them up. I'm not noticing them sweeping across the land and intervening. I'm doing this from beginning to end.

[12:48] The Babylonians are under His sovereign control. Job 12.23 says, speaking of God, He makes nations great and He destroys them.

[13:01] He enlarges nations and leads them away. Indeed, Proverbs 21.1 says, the King's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord.

[13:13] He turns it wherever He wills. Even the King of Babylon. Even the wicked King of wicked Babylon, His heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord.

[13:27] And the Lord is turning His heart toward Judah to execute justice for His sins. Habakkuk is not ignorant of who God is. He acknowledges, yes, Lord, You are sovereignly in control.

[13:41] That's the second attribute that we see in these verses. And now the third. We see the purity of God. There in the first half of verse 13, Habakkuk rightly says that God is of purer eyes than to see evil.

[13:59] He rightly says that God cannot look at wrong. God is morally upright. God is perfectly good. God is pure in every way.

[14:11] 1 John 1.5 simply says, God is light. And in Him, there is no darkness at all. Not a hint of it. Not a little itsy bit, but there's enough light that you don't notice it.

[14:23] No, not any darkness at all. So God says, so to say that God cannot see sin means that He doesn't approve of it.

[14:34] He does look upon it. God does see it. He sees all. We just saw He's sovereignly in control. So yes, He sees everything that happens on the earth.

[14:46] Psalm 139 reminds us of just how much God sees. David says there in Psalm 139, O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

[14:57] You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

[15:09] David knows that God sees His every move. And God knows that God sees even His mind, even His heart. You discern my thoughts from afar.

[15:21] David knows there's nothing about himself that is hidden from God. God sees all of David, even what others can't see. So David finishes the psalm, exclaiming, Search me, O God, and know my heart.

[15:37] Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

[15:49] So David says, God, I want You to inspect me. And Lord, if You see any sin in me, I want that revealed that I might confess it, that I might turn from it, and that I might go in the way everlasting.

[16:02] So God sees sin, most definitely. But He doesn't approve of it. He doesn't tolerate it. Why not? Because He's perfectly pure and good and upright.

[16:17] Go back to Genesis 6 in your Bible reading and what do you find there? The floodwaters came upon the earth. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of His heart was only evil continually.

[16:40] God saw the evil of humanity, not just outwardly displayed, not just what human eyes could see, but inwardly. He saw the thoughts of His heart and He poured out His righteous wrath because He's perfectly good and upright and pure in every way.

[16:57] So Habakkuk understands that this is who God is, that God cannot, God will not tolerate sin. And just to be abundantly clear, God has not changed.

[17:10] God does not change. The God of the Old Testament that we read of here in Habakkuk is the God of the New Testament. The God of Habakkuk's day is the God of our day.

[17:22] He is still perfectly pure and good and upright. He still does not tolerate or approve of sin and His righteous wrath.

[17:34] It will be poured out on sinners who reject Him. The only safety from His wrath is found in His Son.

[17:46] The Son that He sent. In love, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save sinners. In love, God did not withhold His own Son, but He gave Him up.

[17:58] He sent Him for sinners such as us that He, Jesus Christ, might bear the wrath of God upon the cross for sinners such as us, that He might bear the penalty for our sins, that He might die in the place of the unrighteous, being righteous Himself.

[18:19] So if you have not turned to Christ, if you have not trusted in Him, God's wrath still remains on you. The only safety is found in Christ.

[18:29] Come to Christ today. He's willing. He's able. Trust in the only Savior for sinners. Cry out to Him for forgiveness. Believing that He died on the cross for a sinner such as me.

[18:43] And He will receive you. God's wrath, God's anger against you for your sins will be turned away. And you can be sure of it because He says it in His Word.

[18:54] He sent Christ for sinners such as us. So don't think that God will give you a pass. Don't think that, well, God now doesn't really care so much about my sin.

[19:07] That my sins are no big deal to God. No, He sees your sin. He sees all of your sin. Outward actions, inward heart, thought, attitudes.

[19:18] He sees it all. But He can't look upon it. He can't tolerate it because He's perfectly pure. So Habakkuk is confident in God.

[19:30] That's what we see here in the first part of our passage this morning. Habakkuk is confident because he knows God is eternal. God is sovereign. And God is pure.

[19:41] God is good. And there's no one like God. God is alone in all of this. He has no rivals. He is the one true God.

[19:52] God is so much. This is so wonderfully refreshing to hear Habakkuk speak in these ways. It's a change from how he began this oracle. No mention of God's attributes. No confidence in who God is.

[20:05] Well, we see that now very clearly. Habakkuk acknowledges the character of God. But even so, Habakkuk is still confused. We see his confidence in God, but then we also see as he continues his confusion about God.

[20:22] It persists. Yes, God answered his first two questions about Judah's sin, Judah's wickedness. But the answers that God gave Habakkuk have raised another question.

[20:35] He's moved from what will you do about Judah's wickedness to what will you do about Babylon's wickedness? In Habakkuk's mind, one question of injustice has been resolved, but another question of injustice has been raised.

[20:54] He's got this internal whack-a-mole going on in his mind. So let's see his confusion now. Beginning here in the second half of verse 13.

[21:08] 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.

[21:23] 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.

[21:39] 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?

[21:52] So Habakkuk has just rehearsed back to God who he is. He knows that God does not approve of sin even as God has reassured him that Judah's going to be punished for Judah's sins.

[22:05] The nation of God's own people will be judged. They'll be reproved. And it's not as though Habakkuk rejoices at that but he's glad to know that, okay, sin will not go unpunished.

[22:18] It's not going to go unchecked. Again, that was his initial reason for crying out to God for help. Destruction and violence were before him. Strife and contention arose.

[22:29] Sin abounded. And Habakkuk was grieved by this. Habakkuk was troubled. He was righteously angered by this. And God says, here's my plan to bring justice.

[22:41] Habakkuk wants that justice. But the means by which he brings that justice, that is what now deeply troubles Habakkuk. He can't understand.

[22:53] God, your eyes are too pure to see evil. That's why you're going to punish the sin of Judah. But what about Babylon? Your chosen instrument, this nation is the rod of your discipline for us.

[23:08] you're going to use a wicked nation to execute justice upon the wickedness of your beloved people? So what about their wickedness?

[23:19] What will you do about them? You see, Habakkuk has just pivoted from his first complaint to his second. From God, how can you let the sins of your people go unpunished? To God, how can you let the sins of Babylon go unpunished?

[23:32] And Habakkuk makes this pretty bold assertion in verse 13. Babylon is worse than Judah. The wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he.

[23:46] The sins of Babylon exceed the sins of Judah. Yes, the sins of Judah are great. Habakkuk has rehearsed them. But there's still this faithful remnant of believers in the land of Judah.

[24:00] Just as Habakkuk said in verse 4, the wicked surround the righteous. There's still a righteous remnant that remains. Not so with Babylon. This is a pagan nation.

[24:13] These are idol worshipers. They are bloodthirsty. There are none who know God in Babylon. There are none in Babylon who are like Habakkuk crying out to God because of the sins of their own people, the people of Babylon.

[24:29] It's a godless nation. They love to conquer other nations and to terrorize those that they've conquered. So to prove that point, Habakkuk presents this illustration beginning in verse 14.

[24:45] And what he does first really is to accuse God. You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.

[24:57] This is no small thing that Habakkuk is pointing out to God. He describes mankind as being like animals.

[25:08] Fish of the sea, crawling things. You can't help but harken back to Genesis 1 where God is showing us all of creation and how he created all things and man is the pinnacle of his creation.

[25:20] Made in his likeness to have dominion over the fish of the sea. And now Habakkuk's saying, we're like them. No dignity. No order.

[25:31] No justice. No defense against attacks. No ruler. And where does Habakkuk lay the blame for that?

[25:42] Well, you God. You made mankind like the fish of the sea. Like crawling things that have no ruler. God, you've done this.

[25:53] And now look at Babylon. Babylon is coming along like a fisherman with his net. And that's what we see in verse 15. Habakkuk moves from speaking to God about God to now speaking to God about Babylon.

[26:10] Babylon conquers the nations like a fisherman reeling in his hook, his catch. Even that language of bringing them up with a hook.

[26:21] That's obviously figurative language. This is an extended metaphor. Mankind being compared to fish and Babylon being compared to a fisherman with his rod and reel.

[26:32] So there's certainly the figurative understanding. But on a very literal level, back in Habakkuk's day, when a nation would conquer another, it would often not only bind its captives, but even put a hook into their noses to then carry them off into captivity.

[26:52] This happened to Manasseh, a king of Judah before Habakkuk's time. In 2 Chronicles 33, we learn that he was captured with hooks and bound in chains and carried away to Babylon.

[27:07] So the fisherman illustration, it's very fitting. Babylon conquered its foes like a fisherman bringing in a great catch. And how do fishermen respond to a great catch?

[27:19] I have no experience, but I can gather what it's like. They're overjoyed. I've had pictures that some of you have even sent to me showing the impressive catch that you've made.

[27:30] And you're not looking sullen. You're not looking sour. You're not disappointed. You're overjoyed to hold up that fish, to measure the fish, to do all the things that you do with fish that you catch.

[27:42] So the Babylonians, they rejoice. They are glad. They were gloating even over their conquered enemies.

[27:53] And then Babylon would look at its nets and what would they do? They would look at their source of success. They would look at their power and their might and their strength and they would say, we're pretty impressed with ourselves.

[28:09] Even more than that, we're pretty impressed with our false gods who have made us to be so impressive. And so they would go and they would offer sacrifices to their false gods to continue to give that power and that strength and that might.

[28:25] So do you see what Habakkuk's saying to them? What he's saying to God? You're enabling that. The more success that you allow them to enjoy, the more that they find security apart from you.

[28:38] And the more they turn around and they worship their false gods. And the more that their false gods are worshipped and exalted, the more that your name, the more that your reputation is dragged through the mud.

[28:52] Habakkuk can't make sense of that. They serve the creature, not the creator. Aren't you jealous of this God? Will you let the Babylonians just continue in their wicked ways forever?

[29:04] Will you let them mercilessly kill nations forever? Forever. In some sense, Habakkuk is just circling back to where he began.

[29:19] Verse 2. How long, O Lord? Forever? So do you see Habakkuk's confusion? He's confident in who God is.

[29:30] Eternal, sovereign, good. So how can God use an evil nation to accomplish his purposes? If this is who you are, God, and it is, then why are you doing this?

[29:45] Habakkuk doesn't understand. He can't make sense of this. And that's where chapter 1 ends. With this question that Habakkuk so desperately wants an answer to.

[29:56] So how about us this morning? What do we do with our questions? What do we do when we can't make sense of our circumstances?

[30:07] When we find ourselves struggling with the same confusion as Habakkuk? Well, here are three reminders drawn from our passage that we should bring to mind when we're confused, when we're wrestling with doubts, when we have questions that we want desperately answered.

[30:26] Three things to remember. Number one, the character of God. Habakkuk does that. I know that I've emphasized, especially in the first sermon, that Habakkuk comes to God with this sinful tone, with a complaining, accusatory demeanor.

[30:43] But again, I think we see growth this morning in grace from Habakkuk. I think Habakkuk serves as a real example to us and an encouragement to us as we seek to grow in grace as well.

[30:56] Where Habakkuk completely failed to acknowledge anything of God's character in his first address, we see that he acknowledges God's character here. He does remember who God is.

[31:11] And we need to as well. If we forget the character of God, think about everything that follows. If God is not eternal and sovereign over all things, what hope do we have in our trials?

[31:25] In our darkest days, if God is not ruling and reigning over all with all authority on his eternal throne, who's to say that we will make it through?

[31:38] We can hope like a flimsy hope, but how can we know for sure? And if God is not good, how can we be sure that he is for us, that he loves us, that his love will never fail us?

[31:54] How can we be sure that he, yes, maybe sees our trials, sees our dark days, but how can we know that he draws near, that he cares, that he has compassion, that he bears us up, that he carries us through?

[32:08] But when we remember that he's eternal and sovereign and full of steadfast love for us, what a remedy we have in our troubles.

[32:20] Here is our God and he is for us and he will never forsake us. What did Habakkuk call God? Oh, rock.

[32:31] Meaning you're steadfast, you're strong, you're dependable, you're unmovable, you're unshakable, you're like a boulder that won't budge.

[32:43] Kids, it's not like a rock that you pick up by the stream. We're talking about the boulder that all of you and your friends go and try to hit and nothing happens when you run into it except maybe you hurt yourself.

[32:55] A boulder. So come what may, whatever circumstances that we find ourselves in, we remember God's character.

[33:06] We remember Psalm 112, verse 4, light dawns in the darkness for the upright. Okay, so there we're looking at our trials, we're looking at the tribulations of this life in the darkness, light dawns.

[33:21] But then listen to what the second half of that verse says. He is gracious, merciful, and righteous. There we see it again. Here are my trials, what do I need to remember?

[33:33] Here is God's character. Here is who he is. Or as Habakkuk says, he's eternal. He's sovereign. He's good.

[33:45] So that's the first thing that we remember. Here's the second. The promises of God. And we skipped something that Habakkuk said early on in our passage. Have you noticed?

[33:59] These are very important words. Verse 12, We shall not die. These words almost seem out of place, right? Like here is Habakkuk speaking to God about God, rehearsing back to God who he is, saying this is who you are, and then he just inserts these words in the middle of all that.

[34:20] Speaking not now about God, but about the righteous remnant. We shall not die. What does Habakkuk mean by that? Well, in this vision, he's looking.

[34:32] He's seeing this coming judgment, the coming invasion of the Babylonians. And yes, they are coming to discipline the nation of Judah. To reprove the nation.

[34:44] And the remnant will be included in that. But not to utterly destroy the remnant. Not to wipe out the righteous remnant from the face of the earth.

[34:56] Habakkuk can be sure of that. Because he knows and he remembers the promises of God. That God has covenanted himself to his people.

[35:07] And God is not going to break his promises. He's not going to go back on his word. So Habakkuk can confidently say, we shall not die. And so can we.

[35:19] In our darkest of times, we can say, we shall not die. We will not be condemned. All who are in Christ can say in that final sense of it, we shall not die.

[35:35] We will live forever. God has promised it. Live forever with him in the new heavens and the new earth. Eternal life is ours in Christ. The eternal God gives eternal life.

[35:48] Only God is eternal. Only God gives eternal life through his Son. He who is from everlasting gives everlasting life. So Christian, you have been made alive spiritually.

[36:03] Spiritually, you will not die. Physically, unless Christ returns, there will come a day when we will experience physical death. But even our physical bodies will be raised from the dead when Christ returns to make all things new and body and soul will be reunited again.

[36:23] Just as Paul says in Ephesians or Philippians 3, the Lord Jesus Christ will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.

[36:34] In a future final sense, we will not die. Jesus Christ, who died in our place, who rose again from the dead, he will not die again.

[36:45] Death has been defeated. And though it lingers for now, it will be gone in a future final day. Death shall be no more when our living Savior, the King of Kings, returns.

[37:00] As Isaiah 25 promises, he will swallow up death forever. That covering that is cast over all peoples, that veil that is spread over all nations, it will be swallowed up in victory.

[37:16] And so we can say like Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory? That's just the New Testament expression of what we find here in Habakkuk 2.

[37:31] We shall not die. God has promised us life in Christ. A life that we already experience in part, and one day will experience in full.

[37:42] So while we walk through the valley of the shadow of death now, we can confidently say we will not die because our Savior lives. Our Good Shepherd leads us.

[37:53] And our Good Shepherd promises to give life and life abundantly to His sheep. So often in the trials of life, we have questions for God.

[38:05] We don't know every why. There is so much that God doesn't reveal to us. There is so much that God does keep hidden from us. And yet when we reflect on the promises of God that are given to us in His Word, we see just how much He has said.

[38:24] We see just how much He has revealed. What confident hope we can have and do have that we hold so tightly to. So that's the second thing we ought to remember in the darkness of our trials.

[38:37] When we struggle to make sense of our suffering, we remember the promises of God. And now the third and the final thing. We remember who we belong to.

[38:49] Look again at verse 12. Habakkuk addresses God as His. Oh Lord, my God, my Holy One. This is His God.

[39:01] The God who belongs to Him and He to God. So it is with us. This is our God. And we in Christ, we are His people.

[39:14] His treasured possession. His beloved. Bought with the precious blood of His Son. And remembering this reality really ties back to the first two reminders.

[39:26] We remember God's character. We remember God's promises. And we know these promises are for us. We know these are the promises of our God.

[39:39] As we so often sing, now I belong to Jesus. Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.

[39:51] Why can we sing with such hope? Because we're resting on the promises of God. The promises of our God to us. And so we say like Habakkuk, we shall not die.

[40:05] Because this is our God. And as Habakkuk also says, our Holy One. Here is this great and glorious God.

[40:16] He is high above all nations. His glory above the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him. He is majestic in holiness.

[40:27] The angels gathered around His throne cover themselves. They cry out, Holy, Holy, this great God is our God.

[40:39] Your God. Mine. He's near to us. He hears our cry. He leads us. He lightens our darkness. So what do you do when like Habakkuk, you find yourself confused, struggling to make sense of whatever you're facing in life?

[40:59] We remember these three things. I know who you are. I know what you've promised. And I know that I belong to you. And may God then give us grace to say, that's enough.

[41:12] Not in this resigned kind of way. Not like, well, I guess this will have to do. I guess this will have to be good enough. No. May God give us grace to say, it is good enough.

[41:24] Joyfully, contentedly, here is what I know to be true. Here is what I know to be true. And it's seeping into my heart. Remembering who God is.

[41:36] Remembering God's promises. Remembering to whom I belong. That's what we need in the midst of our darkest days. Resting in God.

[41:47] I'm resting in you. I'm trusting in you. Because I know who you are. Because I know what you've said. And I know I belong to you. And then we don't stop there.

[41:58] I was reading a book with my kids recently. And the main character in the book was encountering a trial. And in that moment, he realized he needed to pray.

[42:08] And so, he said a prayer. And the way that the book was written, they said, he said to himself. And it just, it struck me that, no, he just, he prayed.

[42:21] So, we've been given here in Habakkuk three truths that we need to rehearse to ourselves. But then we talk not just to ourselves. We talk to God.

[42:32] We come before him knowing this is who you are. Not just who he is, but who you are. This is what you've said. And I know that I belong to you. Yes, we need to speak the truth to ourselves.

[42:46] But we shouldn't just stay by ourselves and tell us that truth over and over. We bring that truth into the throne room of God. We come to our God. So we bring our trials.

[42:58] We bring our tribulations. We bring our questions and our confusion to God. We talk to him knowing this is who you are. This is what you say. And I belong to you.

[43:09] We speak to our God in prayer. We make our cries known to him. And how he delights to hear from us. His children. Let's go even now in prayer to the Lord.

[43:24] Everlasting God, what a joy it is that we can enter your throne room. Your eternal throne. where indeed the angels are gathered around crying out, holy, holy, holy.

[43:37] And how unclean we once were. How we were so very undeserving and unable of entering into your very throne room. But we thank you for Christ.

[43:48] That through him we can come cleansed of our sins, made righteous through Christ. And we know now as your children that you delight to hear from us.

[43:59] So help us to remember these truths. Now help us to cry out to you with those truths in mind. But not thinking just that we're talking to ourselves because we're not. We're talking to the eternal God, our Holy One who has made us his own.

[44:17] So help us, Father. You who are holy and glorious and majestic. Help us, ancient of days, that we might remember this and rejoice that you count us your own.

[44:31]  We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.