in wrath remember mercy . . . the just shall live by faith - Free sermon ...

Boice: (quoting Lloyd-Jones)Our problems can nearly all be traced to our persistence in looking at the immediateproblems themselves, instead of looking at them in the light of God. So long asHabakkuk was looking at Israel and the Chaldeans, he was troubled. Now he hasforgotten Israel as such, and the Chaldeans, and his eyes are on God. He has returned tothe realm of spiritual truth – the holiness of God, sin in man and in the world – and so heis able to see things in an entirely new light. He is now concerned for the glory of Godand for nothing else.Boice: [Contrast the victory of faith of Habakkuk with the world’s approaches to fearfulsituations]One of the world’s reactions is resignation. A person will say, “If this is going tohappen to me, I suppose there is just nothing that can be done about it. . . This may bebetter than screaming in the face of misfortune, but it is not the Christian way. At best itis a grim Stoicism.A second reaction of the world is detachment. A person will say, “I don’t want to thinkabout such things. Every time I think about them I get depressed – when I think aboutmy own personal future, when I think about the future of the country. . . A person whoreacts this way may try to fill his life with amusements or even work hard to keep hismind occupied. But this view refuses to face reality, and reality, whether we like it ornot, is still there. Moreover, it usually leaves its impact anyway. We try to detachourselves from our problems, but they remain with us subconsciously and inevitablydisturb the activities we are using to escape them.A third approach is sheer bravado. People will tell us, “Pull yourselves together andface this with your chins up. Don’t let the future depress you. Don’t let anything get youdown.” That would be all right if we could do it, for in the situations I am talking aboutour knees are already knocking together and our lips are quivering. Nobody would be inthis state if he or she could help it. When you are terrified, all the pep talks in the worldavail little.The Christian way of dealing with fear is to rejoice in the God of salvation. . . Whenwe rejoice in God, we are placing our confidence in one who acts powerfully andeffectively on our behalf.