in wrath remember mercy . . . the just shall live by faith - Free sermon ...
in wrath remember mercy . . . the just shall live by faith - Free sermon ...
in wrath remember mercy . . . the just shall live by faith - Free sermon ...
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Boice: (quot<strong>in</strong>g Lloyd-Jones)Our problems can nearly all be traced to our persistence <strong>in</strong> look<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>the</strong> immediateproblems <strong>the</strong>mselves, <strong>in</strong>stead of look<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> light of God. So long asHabakkuk was look<strong>in</strong>g at Israel and <strong>the</strong> Chaldeans, he was troubled. Now he hasforgotten Israel as such, and <strong>the</strong> Chaldeans, and his eyes are on God. He has returned to<strong>the</strong> realm of spiritual truth – <strong>the</strong> hol<strong>in</strong>ess of God, s<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> man and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> world – and so heis able to see th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> an entirely new light. He is now concerned for <strong>the</strong> glory of Godand for noth<strong>in</strong>g else.Boice: [Contrast <strong>the</strong> victory of <strong>faith</strong> of Habakkuk with <strong>the</strong> world’s approaches to fearfulsituations]One of <strong>the</strong> world’s reactions is resignation. A person will say, “If this is go<strong>in</strong>g tohappen to me, I suppose <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>just</strong> noth<strong>in</strong>g that can be done about it. . . This may bebetter than scream<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> face of misfortune, but it is not <strong>the</strong> Christian way. At best itis a grim Stoicism.A second reaction of <strong>the</strong> world is detachment. A person will say, “I don’t want to th<strong>in</strong>kabout such th<strong>in</strong>gs. Every time I th<strong>in</strong>k about <strong>the</strong>m I get depressed – when I th<strong>in</strong>k aboutmy own personal future, when I th<strong>in</strong>k about <strong>the</strong> future of <strong>the</strong> country. . . A person whoreacts this way may try to fill his life with amusements or even work hard to keep hism<strong>in</strong>d occupied. But this view refuses to face reality, and reality, whe<strong>the</strong>r we like it ornot, is still <strong>the</strong>re. Moreover, it usually leaves its impact anyway. We try to detachourselves from our problems, but <strong>the</strong>y rema<strong>in</strong> with us subconsciously and <strong>in</strong>evitablydisturb <strong>the</strong> activities we are us<strong>in</strong>g to escape <strong>the</strong>m.A third approach is sheer bravado. People will tell us, “Pull yourselves toge<strong>the</strong>r andface this with your ch<strong>in</strong>s up. Don’t let <strong>the</strong> future depress you. Don’t let anyth<strong>in</strong>g get youdown.” That would be all right if we could do it, for <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> situations I am talk<strong>in</strong>g aboutour knees are already knock<strong>in</strong>g toge<strong>the</strong>r and our lips are quiver<strong>in</strong>g. Nobody would be <strong>in</strong>this state if he or she could help it. When you are terrified, all <strong>the</strong> pep talks <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> worldavail little.The Christian way of deal<strong>in</strong>g with fear is to rejoice <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> God of salvation. . . Whenwe rejoice <strong>in</strong> God, we are plac<strong>in</strong>g our confidence <strong>in</strong> one who acts powerfully andeffectively on our behalf.