The book of Habakkuk, that's in that part of the Bible that doesn't get used too often. So look at the pages that look pretty fresh and start flipping through there. And if you can't find it, that's OK. It'll be on the screen. But I'll challenge you with this. We're going to be here for a couple of weeks. And so when you do find it, you know, something to work on this week, go ahead and put a bookmark or the tab in there. And that way you'll be ready to go for next Sunday. Hey, if you're happy you're saved, would you say amen? Let me ask you a question. Have you ever wondered where God was when some bad thing happened? God, where were you? Why didn't you stop this? Why didn't you change this? Have you ever wondered to yourself what in the world God was doing? I had something tragic happen even this morning. This morning, I, before Sunday school, sent a text message to a brother and I voice texted. And I said, hey, can we have a time of prayer before Sunday school? I looked down and I hit send as I was reading the text. The text said, hey, can we have an affair before Sunday school? No! But praise God, there's an edit function on iMessage. You know, that's a humorous example. But we know the examples from life aren't quite that humorous. Where was God when the doctor brought the diagnosis, you have cancer? When the doctor said this is terminal? Where was God when that loved one walked away? Where was God when I lost my job? Where was God when my world fell apart? And Habakkuk, it deals with these issues. Habakkuk deals with the issues, how do I trust God when I don't understand? How do I trust God when I don't agree with Him? It's a difficult place to be. And like we know the answer. How do I trust God? We'll just trust Him. But that's not always helpful, is it? That's about as helpful as if my check engine light came on, and I went to Robert Reinberger, and I said, Robert Reinberger, I think my car needs fixed. And he says, it does. And I said, well, what do I do? And he said, fix it. You see, sometimes just saying, trust God, it falls a little flat. So we enter into the story, the account of Habakkuk. A dialogue that the prophet has with God as the prophet Habakkuk learns to trust in God even when circumstances don't change. Now Habakkuk, I'll give you a little background, is one of the minor prophets. Now these minor prophets are not minor because their message was of lesser importance, but because of their size. It's a smaller book. Habakkuk has three chapters, the major prophets have a whole lot more. But to give you an idea, Habakkuk had grown up in a cultural revival under a good king. And he had grown up in this cultural revival and he had watched this revival, this renewal, turn to rot under the next generation. And Habakkuk was burdened. Verse 1, it talks about the burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. He struggled to understand. He struggled to agree with God. Some have even dubbed Habakkuk the doubting Thomas of the Old Testament. But what we're going to find as we go through this book is as Habakkuk talked to God, Habakkuk grew. And he eventually comes to the place where even though his circumstances didn't change, he praises God from a heart filled with joy and peace. Now each week as we go through this book, as we walk through this dialogue, we are going to be learning keys, tools that teach us how to trust God even in the most troublesome of times. And this morning we're going to consider this. Learning to trust the prevailing providence of God. Or simply, trusting the fact that God is in control. So let's look at this, Habakkuk chapter 1. And let's look at what the prophet says. The burden which Habakkuk, the prophet, did see. He said, O Lord, How long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? Even cry unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save? Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me, and there are that raise up strife and contention. And therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth. For the wicked doth compass about the righteous, and therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. Number one this morning as we consider the providence of God and that God's ways are not our ways, I want us to consider this first, how very often we are confronted with hard things. Are you with me this morning? Say Amen. Habakkuk was burdened. He gives here a lament which is like a Hebrew, we see it a lot in the Psalms and we'll look at some here in a bit. Habakkuk was burdened. He was burdened about the unchecked wickedness around him. He references violence and iniquity and spoiling and strife and contention. Habakkuk watched as a revival turned to rot and societal decline in Habakkuk's day was disastrous. To the point where God's law was frozen, it was paralyzed, it was ineffective, it was not working the way it should. And Habakkuk was burdened about what he saw in his land. Church, might I add this morning that wickedness still ought to grieve us. Wickedness still ought to grieve us. And we live in a day and age where sins that would have outraged our fathers are tolerated and even celebrated in the name of progress. And I had to check my own heart. I read an article this week about a, I'm not going to call them a church, about a gathering of people who were deceived into thinking that they are some sort of religious institution. And they wrote a song that basically said, I thank God that I'm gay. They put the F word in there. And that was their hymn of praise for the day. And I shook my head. And then I looked, there are pastors where women who are now cosplaying as men leading the church. And I thought to myself, that's crazy. And then I thought to myself, that should not amuse me at all. That should not amuse me at all. I think sometimes we laugh to keep from crying. But the reality is, wickedness in our society still ought to grieve us. Because the Bible is true. Proverbs 14.34 says this, Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. And the problem is, the closer we get to the return of Christ, the more of this nonsense we'll see. 2 Timothy 3, beginning in verse number 1, Paul says this, And then he gives a laundry list of things we see all around us. Men being lovers of their own selves. Covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection. You can read the list. Despisers of the things that are good. Look at verse number four. Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. And if that doesn't describe us today, I don't know what does. But sins that would have outraged our fathers are tolerated and even celebrated in the name of progress. And what happens is when God's law gets replaced with moral relativism, permissiveness and wickedness is accommodated and even promoted from the top down. And so Habakkuk was burdened about what he saw going on around him. Habakkuk was also burdened by the personal difficulty and failed expectations. You see, Habakkuk had received no response. Habakkuk was a prophet of God, so no doubt he was preaching. No doubt he was proclaiming God's word. No doubt he was calling the people of God back. But there was no response. But even worse than no response from the people, Habakkuk felt like he was seeking God. But even the Lord didn't seem to be responding to him. Habakkuk was trying. Why wasn't God? You ever been there? Psalm 22 verse number 1, the psalmist said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? Psalm 13, 1 and 2, we see another lament. The psalmist writes, Oh, how long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? And the reality is we are confronted with hard things and we struggle when we are confronted with hard things. Why do the righteous suffer? Why do the wicked prosper? Why does it seem that chaos and chance rule the day? Why did my family fall apart? Why does it seem that my health, it's just one thing after another and I don't understand. I don't even get over the one thing and I get diagnosed with three more. Is there no end in sight? Why? Why? Why has my career gone this way? Why do other people wrong me like they have? Why did God take that family member like they did? Why? God, where are you? So often when we're confronted with hard things, it seems so uncontrolled, does it not? And in our heart it seems so unjust. I love this church. When confronted by the hard things, Habakkuk cried unto the Lord. Habakkuk brought his raw emotion to God. You ever stop and think about the fact that God can handle your feelings? A little secret, He already knows them. Sometimes our heart is so full of angst and we can hardly bring ourselves to pray the good King James prayer. Why do we feel like we have to put on airs for God? We can come, be respectful but be real, and pour our hearts out before God. Habakkuk, like you and I, are confronted with hard things. But here's where it kind of takes a turn. Let's go back, let's read verses 2 through 5. Habakkuk says, O Lord, how long shall I cry? and thou wilt not hear, even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save. Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me, and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slack, and judgment doth never go forth. For the wicked doth compass about the righteous, therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. Then we have verse 5. This is the Lord chiming in. He says, Behold, ye among the heathen, and regard and wonder marvelously. For I will work a work in your day which ye will not believe, though it be told you. So number one, we're confronted by the hard things. But number two, We're confused by the hidden things. Habakkuk cries out, how long? God, how long? How long? How long? God, when are you going to answer my prayer? Habakkuk cries out, why? God, why are you doing this? Why are you doing this? Why aren't you doing anything? And more disturbing to Habakkuk than the iniquity around him was the apparent inactivity of the God above him. Habakkuk had evidently been seeking God for a long while, and heaven seemed unavailable. Heaven seemed uninterested, even to the prophet. You know, I'm grateful for accounts like this in the scripture, because, you know, sometimes I do struggle to feel, is God even hearing my prayer? Or is heaven, is it just brass and bouncing back? Are they empty words? God, where are you? Heaven seemed unavailable even to the prophet. And God responds to Habakkuk. Very interestingly, God responds to Habakkuk not by answering how long, and not even by answering why, but by assuring the prophet. that God was not ignorant of what was taking place, God was not inactive in the affairs of men, nor was God ineffective in His work. He declared to Habakkuk that He would do an unbelievable work in the days to come, so much so that He told Habakkuk, even if it were told you It's gonna be so great, even if it were told you, you wouldn't believe it. What I am about to do will leave you absolutely breathless. But we're confused by those hidden things, aren't we not? You know, I think sometimes there's an element of pride in our hearts. There's an element of insecurity. that causes me to need to be able to see, to be able to feel, to be able to somehow understand the things that are happening to me. But that's a problem. Because God does not always work in ways that I can see, that I can feel, or that I can understand. Deuteronomy 29, 29 says this, the secret things belong unto who? Unto the Lord our God. But those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever. You realize there are some things that belong to us, but there are some things that don't belong to us. They belong to God. Job 11, in verse number 7, Job asks this. He said, Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? Go ahead. Go ahead. Study after God. Look after God. Seek after God. Get everything you can about God. Can you ever truly understand God in His fullness? And the answer is no. No. My mortal mind cannot grasp the nature of an Almighty, eternal, infinite God. And friends, sometimes it is beyond our capacity to understand or appreciate the answer. You know what we're gonna find? The answer that God gives to Habakkuk, Habakkuk is praying for revival. Habakkuk is praying for renewal. And God is telling him, and we'll read it a little bit today, get into more of it next week. God is telling him, in essence, I'm not sending revival, I'm sending a hammer. And I am going to judge my people. Can I tell you, Habakkuk doesn't like that answer. So this week, Habakkuk goes, God, where are you? You know what, next week, Habakkuk is gonna say, God, you can't do that, no. No, God, you can't do that. God, I don't agree with this. It's beyond our capacity to understand or appreciate what God is doing. So here's what we have to do. You ready? How do I trust in God? I gotta start by humbling myself to recognize that I don't know enough. to make summary judgments of my circumstances. I don't know enough to know what God is doing or why God has allowed what He has allowed. I don't know enough why it seems to be one thing after another. I don't know enough. I lack the necessary perspective. It's kind of like, have you ever reasoned with a toddler? A couple of illustrations here very quickly. I had the privilege of going around with my toddler, Timothy, to ride rides. And there's one ride that even big people like me can fit in with the little kids. So I said, Timothy, I'm going to ride it with you. He's like, no, I'll go by myself, by myself. I said, nobody, I want to ride with you. He said, no, by myself. I said, nobody, nobody, I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this for me. Like, I want to spend time with you. He goes, go find your ride, find roller coaster. I go by myself. I said, but Timothy, I really, and I'm down here, I'm down on the ground by him. And I'm like, Timothy, but Daddy wants to go with you. And I kid you not, the two-year-old, he puts his hand on my shoulder, and he goes, I promise, Dad, I promise. And I said, what do you promise? He said, I'll come back. I promise. Needless to say, I didn't get to ride. So that was cute. But then we went to the train, right? Now I'm gonna go try to ride the little train with him, get myself in there. And there was a little girl, and the most terrible thing in the world happened. It was awful. She was the last kid that didn't get to go. She lost her mind. Like, it was spectacular in a very bad way. I mean, jumping and flailing and screeching, and even, like, everybody else was just like, And I mean, and the dad's like, it's coming back. You'll get to ride next time. No! Absolutely lacked perspective for just hang on for 90 seconds. And it'll make a little more sense. You see, I have to humble myself to say, I don't know enough. I don't know enough to make a summary judgment. I lack the necessary perspective. Here we go. God is God and I am not. I think that's something we should say. Ready? Say it with me. Ready? God is God. I am not. Let's say it again. God is God. I am not. So we have this element of pride. But since I am not God, in any way, shape, or form, follow me, it makes sense that things don't always make sense. Boy, that's a hard thing to get a hold of. Since God is God and I am not, it makes sense that things don't always make sense to me. Romans 11 and verse number 33, he says, Oh, the depths and the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. You know what that means? That means I should even learn to expect things that I cannot explain. This is hard. This is also incredibly humbling. But friends, this is the reality of faith. Either I can be frustrated in it, I can be fearful of it, or I can have faith. That even when I don't understand, even when I don't agree, God is in control. Number one, confronted with hard things, Number two, confused with hidden things. Let's just jump back in verses five through seven. He says, Behold, ye among the heathen, and regard and wonder marvelously. He said, For I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible. and dreadful, and their judgment and dignity shall proceed of themselves." How do I trust God? How do I trust God? Well, I'm confronted by hard things. I'm confused by hidden things. But this is how I learn to trust God. Number three, here's the key. I am convinced of higher things. I'm convinced that God is at work. I am convinced that He is not ignorant about what is going on. I am convinced that He is not inattentive to my needs. I am convinced that He is not inactive in the affairs of men. I am convinced that He is not ineffective, but that God will accomplish His purposes. You know, God has a perspective that you and I can't grasp. Isaiah 55 in verse number 8, a familiar verse. For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. Get verse 9 up there for me too, Joey. I want you to see this. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. And then in the very next verse, Isaiah 55 and verse number 9, the Lord says this, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Present it with the utter impossibility that you and I could have the perspective to grasp what God is doing. God has a perspective that we cannot grasp. God has a power that we cannot grasp. Did you know that God does not have to micromanage the movements of the universe in order to accomplish His purposes? Think about it this way. As my kids get older, they get harder to beat at board games. They get harder to beat in general, all right? Don't get any ideas. I can still take you. Amen and amen, in Christian love. But when the kids were little, like four, five, six, and they were learning to play checkers, I would make it my goal sometimes, I'm going to beat you without losing a single piece. Do you know what I did not have to do? I did not have to take five-year-old Christopher's hand and say, well, I'm gonna move this here, and I'm gonna move this here. No, five-year-old Christopher, five-year-old Emma was able to move freely. But guess what? Guess what? No matter how he moved, I accomplished my purposes. You realize God doesn't have to micromanage the movements of the universe, the movements of our lives, in order to accomplish his purposes. Psalm 76 10, the Bible tells us this, in Psalm 76 in verse number 10, Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, the remainder thou shalt restrain. You know God thinks and acts bigger and better than I do, doesn't he? We call this the prevailing providence of God. Or simply this, that God is actively involved in the world, guiding and governing all things according to his will. God, this is the sovereign king of heaven. This is he who is on the throne. God, he is actively involved. He is not uninterested. He is not detached. He is not ignorant. He knows. He is actively involved. Governing and guiding all things according to His will. Now here's part of our struggle. Very often, when we talk about trusting God, often when we say we are trusting God, what we mean is that we are trusting God to do what we want Him to do. Trusting God to do my will? is not really trusting God. Remember the Lord's Prayer? Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. I have to recognize sometimes it may not be His will to give me what I want. Again, the context. Tobacco wanted revival and God was sending a hammer. You know, my circumstances don't need to change. for me to learn to trust God. I think a beautiful illustration of this, very often when you travel, especially long distances, you'll travel through some rough weather. And there have been many occasions, driving home from my mom and dad's on the turnpike, coming into Cleveland, around the lake, we'll drive into some bad weather. Maybe it's all that lake effect snow in the wintertime, and it's building up on the turnpike, and it's blowing, and it's going, and people are still going 95 miles per hour, and all sorts of crazy. Those are not ideal circumstances to be on the road. But very often, when I look around at my family, what are my family doing? They're not huddled up in the back seat. Ooh, what's gonna happen? No, they're sleeping, or mama's sleeping. They're arguing, fussing, poking each other. Chris, stop! Not a one of them is worried. Not a one of them is worried. Why? Because they have trust in the one whose hand is on the wheel. Friend, God is actively involved in the world, guiding, governing. He is sovereign. Nothing happens by chance or chaos. God wisely governs all of creation towards His ultimate plan. God tenderly cares for us as individuals. Matthew 10, beginning in verse number 30, the Bible says this. Matthew 10, beginning in verse number 30. And we can turn there in our Bibles as well, as he gets that up for us. Jesus says this, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. He said, fear not, Therefore, year of more value than many sparrows. You see, God has the very hairs of our head numbered. And we can trust that God is working, not just globally, but that God is working in our individual lives to bring His good and perfect purposes to pass. I don't always need to understand. I just need to know that God is in control. You with me this morning church, say amen. I want you to hear Jesus' message. You know, towards the end of Jesus' ministry, He told of the world's end. He told of the tribulation. He told of the battle of Armageddon that would come. He told of all of these things that were coming. And I want you to see what Jesus said in regards, what did Jesus say to do when the world was absolutely falling apart? Mark 13 and verse number 7. Mark 13 and verse number 7. He said, And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, help me, be ye not troubled. For such things must, needs be. But the end shall not yet be. Be yet. Jesus' advice when the world is falling apart is fear not. Don't be afraid. He says these wars and rumors of wars, He said these things must needs be. God is in control. But I tell you that's good advice not just for when the whole world is falling apart, that's good advice for when your world is falling apart. Fear not. Be not afraid. The psalmist said in Psalm 138 in verse number 8, he said this, the Lord will perfect or bring to completion that which concerneth me. Oh Lord, endureth forever. Forsake not the works of thine own hands. That no matter how much the world around me seems to be falling apart, here's the thing, God is still in control. And he will perfect that which concerns you. Nothing has ever overrun the bounds that God has set for it. Nothing has ever left God bewildered or confused. How do I trust in God when my world is falling apart? I trust in God's prevailing providence. His ways are not my ways. Thus, it probably won't always make sense to me. But I divest my heart of pride. He is God. I am not. But man, He is not just God. He is my God. He is my Father. He is my Shepherd. And I can trust Him. I don't always have to agree. And I don't always have to understand. But God has proven time and time again that He is worthy of my trust. How do I trust God? By remembering God's hand is firmly on the wheel. It doesn't mean that it won't be hard and it doesn't mean that it won't involve hurt. But it does mean that it's all under control.