When Life Goes Against You — E.A. Johnston

Habakkuk Wrestles with Evil and Calamity

Today, friends, we are in the book of Habakkuk. The prophet Habakkuk's name means the wrestler, and it is apropos to his message, for his little book wrestles with the question of why God would let evil go unpunished, and why would he bring calamity on his own people.

Questions Raised by Suffering and Injustice

You've heard the expression, when bad things happen to good people, well, that raises a lot of questions about God. Some people may ask, why did God allow my spouse to die? Why did God allow my business to fail?

Why am I in this terrible predicament, and the wicked around me prosper? Why God? Well, Habakkuk was deeply troubled with the injustice that prevailed in the land. But as we read his little book, we must not overlook verse 220, which declares, meaning God's ways are not our ways, his thoughts not our thoughts.

He has a higher purpose behind all things we go through. Well, Habakkuk's heart cry is a prayer to God, and his book mainly concerns the invasion of the land of Judah by the Chaldeans, which brought spoil upon the people of God.

It put them in great hardships of famine and want. The title of my message today, friends, is When Life Goes Against Us. I once heard you can't really preach a thing until you've lived it. Well, I've lived this passage, friends.

Personal Loss and the Reality of Suffering

I can tell you that for sure. I'm well acquainted with suffering and loss. I know in my own life, the last 14 years have been to hell and back. I lost my wife to a sudden tragedy of suicide. I lost my home.

I lost my business. I lost my wealth. I lost my reputation. And eventually, I broke under the stress of it all and lost my health from a sudden heart attack and a quadruple bypass surgery. Well, constant hardship has been my close companion, and this little book has been a source of encouragement to me through the years.

Encouragement for Those Facing Trials

Maybe some of you are going through a tough time. Maybe you've lost a loved one, or perhaps their health is gone. Maybe you've experienced a devastating financial loss. Maybe you got some bad news from the doctor lately.

Maybe you just found out your spouse has been unfaithful to you. Well, whatever your trial is, friend, what you're going through, I hope this message is a help to you. The crux of the prophet's message falls at the end of his little book in the last three verses.

Rejoicing in God Despite Material Loss

Here now is the word of God, and may the spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat.

The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

Faith Beyond Unanswered Prayer and Barren Circumstances

Well, I will stop there, friends. What the prophet is saying, hope is not realized, the fig tree is not blossomed, hardship is endured, labor of the olive fails, heaviness of our trials is encountered, the fields yield no meat, all is barren, and there's no herd in the stalls, just lack upon lack, heartache upon heartache, and even my prayers seem to go nowhere, it's like heaven seems like a closed door.

Joy in the God of Salvation

Yet, and that's a big little word, friends, yet, despite all this, I will rejoice in the Lord, when there is no other reason to rejoice, for my joy is not in outward circumstances, whether plentiful and prosperous, or penury and hardship, my joy is in the God of my salvation, because the Lord God is my strength, his and my hopes will be realized, hardship will end, outward circumstances will improve, prayers will be answered, for faith looks beyond the material and the temporal to the eternal, the eternal God who still sits on his throne in the temple, and nothing can come to us that first doesn't pass through his permissible fingers.

God’s Faithfulness and Worthiness of Praise

God's word is true, and God is true to his word, and Jesus is wonderful because of who he is, and he will never let you down, friend, he'll never let you go, he is worthy to be praised under all circumstances.

Let us pray.