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 to this complaint.—Habakkuk 2:1
WHEN LIFE FAILS TO MEET EXPECTATIONS
Perhaps the hardest thing for a Christian to do is to stand on his faith in God when life is not meeting our expectation. A popular myth of Christianity is that, once we come to Jesus we’ll never have a problem. But Jesus Himself reminds us that God causes the Sun to shine on the unjust and the rain to fall on the faithful. And while we can accept that intellectually, it’s hard to live with that reality when the one in the rain is us.
It’s not hard to praise the Lord when all is going well with us, but it’s a little harder to say, “I love the Lord” when the bottom falls out of our lives. It’s not hard to sing songs of praise when all our bills are paid, but it’s a little harder to sing when we’re not sure where our next meal is coming from, or when our children are acting up, or when our spouses disappoint us, or when our bodies are racked with pain. Often, when life doesn’t meet expectations, it disrupts our relationship with God; when life doesn’t meet expectations, we’re heard asking the question, “What good does it do? What good is worship if I still have all these problems? What good is service if suffering is its constant companion, while others never who call God’s name seem to do so much better than I am doing? What good is prayer if I don’t always get what I ask for?”
The Bible is full of examples of people who broke at the point where life wasn’t meeting their expectation. Elijah ran and hid himself in a cave, and asked God to take away his life because it wasn’t meeting his expectation; Jeremiah got mad with God and said that he wasn’t going to preach anymore because life wasn’t meeting his expectation. We talk about the patience of Job, but if you check the record, the Bible says that the longer life fell short of Job’s expectation, the shorter his patience became until finally he chal-lenged God’s fairness, and said, “If only I knew where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling! I would state my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.”
It’s hard sometimes to keep going when life continues to fall short of our expectation. But if Habakkuk’s story serves any purpose today, it should encourage us to stay an-chored in our faith in God when disappointment comes our way, for our faith is that He knows, He cares and He will provide a remedy to our situation if we would just patiently wait on Him.
You know, that word “wait” is interesting, because it doesn’t mean what we commonly think it means. Our common use of the word refers to a moment of stillness where we do nothing. But often, the word “wait” in the Old Testament means “to maintain an earnest expectation.” When Isaiah says, “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength”, he was really saying, “Those whose hope, those whose earnest expectation rests in the Lord shall have their strength renewed.” When David says, “Wait on the Lord and be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart”, he’s saying, “Keep your hope in the Lord and hold on in tough times, and he will fulfill your expectation.” And the advice that comes from these patriarchs of the faith is the same as we see coming from the man at the center of our text today, as he deals with a situation where life is not meeting his expectation.
Our text centers on the faith of Habakkuk at a time when life had left him extremely hurt and disappointed. Habakkuk prophesied for the Lord between 620 and 600 BC to the southern kingdom of Judah. Judah was caught in the midst of great spiritual apostasy; wickedness abounded on every hand. But while Judah was fading, Babylon—a pagan people—was prospering. Judah was on her way out, but Babylon was reaching new heights. Judah was going backward, but Babylon was progressing and expanding, and they were doing it through very aggressive and violent means. This turn of events disturbed Habakkuk. Habakkuk was a godly man who did his best to live a life that would be pleasing to God. More than that, Habakkuk was aware of the history of his people. He knew that he was of the tribe and lineage of David; he knew that the blood of Abraham ran through his veins and the veins of his people. To borrow an expression from Peter, he knew that Judah was a chosen people, a royal priesthood and a holy nation that enjoyed a unique relationship with God. Habakkuk knew that God had built a hedge around His people and had protected them from their enemies. But now things were changing. Because of spiritual wickedness, because of unrepentant sin, Israel had been swept away by the Assyrians just a century earlier. And now, the same fate was threatening Judah at the hands of Babylon—for the same reason.
Church, never forget that God has a purpose for our lives and, if we submit to Him, He will help us achieve His purpose. But as we consider this text today, we would also re-mind you that, as merciful and as lenient and as patient as God is, if we abuse His mercy, there will come a time when patience runs out. That’s what happened with Israel, that’s what was happening with Judah, and in many ways it seems like that’s what’s happening with us today. Time after time, God had warned His people to live up to His standard or suffer the consequences of their choice, and the same thing is being said to us today.
God has a standard for his people—the Christ standard. The Christ standard is love without limit or restriction; the Christ standard is living a life that shows others that Jesus is in control; the Christ standard is doing for others what you would want others to do for you; the Christ standard is blessing those who curse you and doing good to those who hate you and praying for those who would use you and persecute you; the Christ standard is living by the Spirit and not gratifying the desires of the sinful flesh; the Christ standard is pursuing excellence in all that we say and think and do. And when we fail to strive to live up to the Christ standard, we test the patience of God. And if we’re not careful, His patience will run out. This same Paul who urges us to live by the Spirit also warns us, “Don’t allow yourselves to be fooled. God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”
Habakkuk had been a religious and a devout man, and it was inconceivable to him that God would allow such a people as Babylon to threaten the peace of Judah. Hear him question God, “How long will I cry for help when it seems as though You will not hear? Why are You silent in the midst of this sorrow?” Habakkuk becomes the voice of the godly man trying to understand the ways of God when life has not met expectations. But as we consider Habakkuk’s complaint, there are a couple of things that Habakkuk failed to take into consideration.
First, Habakkuk failed to consider that Judah’s trouble was Judah’s fault. Judah’s great sin against God was idolatry, and all the things that accompany idolatry. No one forced Judah into idol worship; no one made Judah reject the God of their fathers and embrace gods of wood and stone. They did that on their own. And when you invite trouble into your life you shouldn’t be surprised when trouble shows up.
Church, when life fails to meet our expectation, we’re often heard to ask God, “Why would You let trouble come into my life?” And I’m not insensitive to your situation— whatever it may be. But I’m compelled by the Holy Spirit to remind us that much of our trouble is our own fault. Much of our trouble is because we have turned away from the true and living God and followed after other gods. We’ve followed after the god of power; we’ve followed after the god of personal pleasure; we’ve followed after the god of wealth and prosperity; we’ve followed after the god of selfishness and greed; we’ve followed after the god of lust and temptation; we’ve followed after the god of sloth and laziness; we’ve followed after the god of anger and revenge; we’ve followed after the god of pragmatism and practicality. And when we abandon the true and the living God and follow after idols, then we shouldn’t be surprised when trouble arrives at our door.
Then, a second thing Habakkuk failed to consider was that life wasn’t meeting expectations because he was caught up in the sins of others. Sin had saturated the halls of government; sin had stained the business and economic community; sin had even infiltrated the religious community. And even though Habakkuk had been devout and right-eous and committed to God, Babylon was at his door because he was caught up in the sins of others.
Church, our sin doesn’t just affect us—it affects others. When life fails to meet expectations, it may be because we’re caught up in someone else’s drama. Sin has conesquences at every level. America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth, but many of us are suffering the consequences of America’s sin. When our government continues to claim sovereignty for one portion of the nation by systematically and institutionally denying that same sovereignty to a substantial portion of your own population because of race, creed or color, that’s sin and there will be consequences. When the poor are denied adequate housing, education, health care and employment, that’s a sin, and there will be consequences. And just like that’s true on a national level, it’s true on a personal level. Our sinful choices, our selfish choices, our vengeful choices, our path of least resistance choices carry consequences that affect more people than just us. The children of addicts and alcoholics and abusers are more likely to be addicts, alcoholics and abusers—that’s a consequence of our sin. Children who are given no positive direction in life from their home will choose their own direction in the street, usually a violent, aggressive and criminal direction—that’s a consequence of our sin. As unpleasant as it may be for many of us, we must realize that Babylon is at our door today because we’re suffering the consequences of another’s sin.
Well, God’s response to Habakkuk’s dilemma will be the subject of our Sunday School Lesosn today. But as I close this message, I’m glad for what Habakkuk did about his situation. Life for Habakkuk wasn’t meeting expectations. He was frustrated, upset and disappointed. But I’m glad that he took his problem to the only One who could help him. I hear Habakkuk say, “Even though I don’t like what’s happening, even though I don’t understand why things are the way they are, even though Babylon is knocking at my door and trouble has befallen me when I’ve done the best that I could do, I’ve made up my mind that I’m not going to give up on God. I’ll stand my watch, and station myself on the ramparts, and I will look to see what He will say to me.”
Habakkuk knew that he had a problem, but he also knew who was a problem-Solver. Habakkuk knew that his heart was broken, but he also knew who could fix his heart and who could lift his spirit. Habakkuk knew that trouble was all around him, but he also knew who would be his bridge over troubled water. He was not satisfied with talking to his friends or his family; he was not content to take his grievance to some governmental office. But Habakkuk recognized that he had a real problem; he knew that life, for him, was not meeting expectations. And he understood that there was only One who could do anything about his situation. And so he says, “I’m standing on the watch wall, looking out over the unfulfilled expectations of my life. I’ve done all that I can do; I’ve gone as far as I can go. And so I’m just going to give my situation over to the Lord and I’m going to wait for Him to answer me.”
Church when life fails to meet your expectation, when you’re in trouble and Babylon is approaching your door—regardless of where the trouble came from, there’s only one Somebody who can fix your trouble, there’s only One Somebody who can help you; there’s only One Somebody who can give ease to your troubled mind; there’s only One Somebody who can soothe your doubts and calm your fears; there’s only One Some-body who can dry the tears from your eyes. “I must tell Jesus, all of my trial; I cannot bear these burdens alone. In my distress He kindly will help me; He ever loves and cares for His own.”
Tell Jesus, and watch Him open doors for you that men have closed against you. Tell Jesus, and watch Him make a way out of no way. Tell Jesus, and watch Him build a hedge between you and your enemies. Tell Jesus! Tell Jesus!!
