Rest in the Day of Trouble

Triumphant Faith - Messsage 7 - Rest in the Day of Trouble. As God showed Habakkuk how and why He was going to judge Judah this caused Habakkuk to fear. This was no ordinary fear. Habakkuk knew that God was Holy and Just. And in seeing how awful a thing His wrath is, Habakkuk experienced what he described as bone shattering fear. Fear is a normal part of life in a fallen world. Courageous King David feared (Psalm 6:7; 102:8); the Apostle Paul feared (2 Cor 1:8); and Timothy feared (2 Tim 1:7). Fear is not an easy thing to overcome, but God has given us what we need to stop being afraid. Fear is the opposite of faith, and when we are afraid we need to remember Who we believe and why we believe in Him! Habakkuk has given us a poetic prayer put to music in chapter 3 of his prophecy. The core of that prayer serves not only to plead with God to give “rest in the day of trouble” but also to remind us what to do if we, like the prophet, are overcome with fear. He was afraid when he saw the terrible judgment of God that was coming upon the people. We fear when we face uncertainty or hardship. Either way we find four things in this prayer to help us overcome our fears. First we see that Habakkuk remembered God's Glory (Hab 3:3b-9a). Second we see that Habakkuk remembered God's Power (Hab 3:9b-13). Third we see that Habakkuk remembered God's Faithfulness (Hab 3:14-15). Fourth we see that Habakkuk remembered God's Promises (Hab 3:16). In conclusion we learn from this history lesson that when we face debilitating fear, we do not need to rely on emotions, reason, or knowledge. To overcome fear we must rely on the Lord Jesus by faith!