Trusting God in the Hard Times

Sermon Notes:

Application Questions:

Habakkuk teaches us how to trust God in the hard times.  We learn that we can tell God what we’re really thinking and feeling—we don’t have to hold back. God can handle it; in fact, he invites it! 

Habakkuk means “To embrace and to wrestle”.  How do you embrace and wrestle with God?

Read Habakkuk 1:2-4. Describe a time in your life when you’ve had a crisis of belief. Has there ever been a moment when what you wanted to believe about God didn’t line up with your experience of him? Does knowing that God invites you to be real with him change your view of him? How?

When we try to explain away others’ doubts and struggles, we’re not listening. Before they can be helped, they need to be heard.

Has someone ever tried to explain away your pain? How did it make you feel? How comfortable are you when others question God? How do you typically respond when others express doubt? What are some ways we can love others well without trying to fix them or resolve their doubts?

Read Proverbs 3:5-6 and Habakkuk 3:17-19. Even though nothing has been resolved, even though Habakkuk is still confused and angry about what’s happening, he worships God and trusts him with the outcome.

Habakkuk the prophet no doubt remembered God’s faithfulness to rescue his people all through the Old Testament, prompting him to call God “the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18). Describe a time when God rescued you – What happened? What did he do?  How does our ultimate rescue in Jesus change the way you view your current circumstances?

Read James 1:2-4 and 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. Intimacy with God requires experiencing his faithfulness in life’s valleys, not just on the mountaintops. It’s in the valleys that God invites us to be honest and real—to both wrestle with and embrace him. According to these two passages, why does God allow our faith to be tested? What’s the end goal?

Think of a time in life when a weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, or trouble brought you closer to God. How did he strengthen your faith? What area of life are you wrestling with and embracing God?

Reflect

What is God saying to you through his word? What are you going to do about it, and when?