The Integrity of Waiting . . . Not Worrying, Part 2

Waiting is often a test of our confidence in God today from Chuck Swindoll. You know what's best.

God knows what is best. I do not. So when we embrace a life of faith and put our trust in the sovereign God we say to you.you know what is best. I do know I'm waiting for you to do what's best to come true right the financial matter and the bills are stocking up. Maybe it's a prodigal was far from home you're waiting for a phone call today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll's teaching from the Old Testament book of Habakkuk Habakkuk the prophet carried a heavy burden for Israel was patiently waiting on God to intervene in history, we find fresh application for our times.

Chuck titled his message the integrity of waiting not worry again, no one else.

Our father turned to the Lord, the soul first to satisfy exhaust spring waters free.

All other screens or dry you and you alone hold answers that no one else is you and you alone can provide what no one else can offer you and you alone know the end from the beginning and the rest of those on this earth only guess only hoped in vain. So returned to you.

You are our God never once failed us.

You will often come later than we expected.

You often resort remained silent longer than we had wanted, but you were there all along you there. You cared thank you father for faithfully meeting our every need. Thank you for your mercies that are new every morning for your patience, medicine, work every day for your grace that has one us to yourself and picked us up and dusted us off and never once shamed us, but for gave us over and over and over and over again.

And so today on this special day we call upon you, our great God straight to us through this ancient book talk in terms that we can understand and begin a work of changing our thinking so that we might be able to change our living.

We remember those in difficult places and going through severe times meet the needs father for they are more than we can count and they are deeper than we can measure.

There's a heartbreak in every role of this building today and in every life who is viewing this work of ministry. So dig deeply. Lord grab our attention and hold it as we listen to what you say to an ancient prophet and in reality to everyone of us. Most of all. This morning we give you great praise for your love all fellow you love us Frank you are father that you so loved the world that you gave your one and only son, that whoever believes in him should never perish but have everlasting life. We worship you and you alone today from the depths of our hearts through Christ our matchless Savior, who loved his own to the end, we pray. Everyone said amen you're listening to Insight for living to search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.org/studies Chuck titled his message the integrity of waiting, not worrying.

Habakkuk is the only prophet who never once addresses the people around him in his day is not interesting. He addresses God, and God answers him.

This is called interchange as we interpret the Scripture or dialogue.

Habakkuk speaks God answers verses 1 to 4 Habakkuk speaking and you get out of verse five. Look at the beginning, the Lord replied five through 11 those of the Lord's words back to Habakkuk, and after that Habakkuk response to the Lord. Habakkuk is this burden and I his people around them. The Jews and Judah are just as evil as they can be.

Some are even worshiping idols by now and they are walking fast and furiously away from God and Habakkuk just can't stand it.

So he cries out and says the Lord told look at this as if the Lord didn't know, and so the Lord listens as he complains it. And then when the Lord does speak, he says to his prophet uses Habakkuk I have a plan if I told you you wouldn't believe it, and about his believe it to is well.

I'm going to send the Chaldeans in and they're going to wipe you up. I can't believe it, but I just can't believe just to check that I we are. You will find what it is to serve a sovereign God you back away in begin to listen. So when we get to chapter 2 Habakkuk is listening. See what he says into one. I will go up in my tower and I'm going to wait and I'm going to listen, I'm going to see what it is your plan to do.

I'm going to hear the whole story and in chapter 2 verse two to the end of the chapter verse 20.

God speaks, he lays it all out will get there in a moment after God has finished, of all things footed chapter 3 verse one, the one who started with tears and crying out to God, is now in chapter 3 what singing is prayer to God for the beauties of the prophet like Habakkuk is willing to listen and is willing to change. I get to that in a moment well read along and think along with me as we read what it is. Habakkuk is conveying to us.

It's as if he wrote it yesterday to these people around us and to us as well.

In our day Lord must not call for help. How long must I call but you do not listen chapter 1 verse two where are you, Lord Jesus must die for ever see these evil deeds. Why must I watch all of this misery wherever I look I see destruction and violence I'm surrounded by people who love to argue and fight that's I like the day, hello, must I go on, Lord.

Where are you in the law has become paralyzed, is in there there's there's no justice. The wicked far outnumber the righteous and when justice does roll down his perverted, twisted right is shown to be wrong and wrong is declared to be right with kind of a court room is that that's it. That's my world is it when you're prophet uterus. The walls through life and shrug it off, you feel the pain of your times a you you have no one else to call on.

But the Lord God who called you into this role.

So the Lord replies look good for you so verse five look around at the nation look and be amazed. I'm doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe, even if it if someone told you about it.

I would I'm raising up the Babylonians of the March on Judah wipe you out will the solution is worse than the problem. That was a Chaldeans you don't know because you don't know about Chaldeans it's about with Babylonians Calvin synonyms that they were the worst cruel violent hung there there pray on hooks stacked up's skulls and pyramids, bloodthirsty brutes that came like like locusts across the country is as a I'm sending the Chaldeans, and they're going to take you in the captivity, and he goes on to describe the notorious for their cruelty. The spells about their their chariots come from far away in and they sweep down like eagles and Habakkuk doesn't even listen on the Chaldeans. He's read about in the evening news.

You knows a bed. They are in any can't stand it really did gets worse as the Lord describes the many said that will take care of the Judah, the evil that you're dealing with when when I bring you the captivity and you're there for decades. You will learn your lessons in a bucket goes stop. Stop right there.

I mean times are bad, but God makes sense you had experiences like that. As we have for the Lord does come through and in any comes a different way or does a different thing than you anticipated and it seems at first like it's worse that it was at the beginning you think you know is that really you. I think I read about that was hanging on the ledge in any was it just bought often he was hanging on was fingertips eases how and hears a voice the voices I can help you what you let go let go, but not hearing what we want to hear. This is not the answer. We expect now thankfully he does would not everybody does verse two China chapter 2 verse one I Lord I can't put it together. I can't figure you out.

I can't see good coming from such a source of evil. I can't see how invading our nation will be best for us. But how can you give them another nation for them to brag about conquering and we are your chosen people, so I'm going to look at it. I want to climb up on my tower I'm going to stand quietly and I am going to us a novel thought I'm going to wait and listen you want to you know the truth of never known anyone who was disappointed that he chose to wait but is often the last option we take those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

We have the promise in Isaiah will mount up with wings like eagles will run and not be weary will walk and we won't fight. Just wait.

Don't worry, here's the integrity of waiting, not worrying. I think at this point. Habakkuk left it in the Lord's hands and now the Lord takes over and began to describe his game plan and he goes into it carefully as he spells it out. I want you to especially move down to verse four.

This is the most important verse in Habakkuk 24 look at the crowd. They trust in themselves and their lives are crooked look at the next part of the verse, but the righteous one will live by faith.

He will trust in me, he will live by faith 1500 years later, the apostle Paul picked up his pen actually. Centuries later, he picked up his pen and and he wrote in Romans 117 pulling in this very verse as he writes about our salvation. It is not based on works is not based on the law is based on faith and he quotes. Believe it or not. Habakkuk 24 he quotes from Habakkuk measures for the 1500 years, government 1500 years later Martin Luther is struggling struggling. He just can't stay quiet because of his own sin. In fact he writes in one of the biographers mentions that he and his stolen cell wallowed in his in his stolen cell saying over and over my sin mod Susan Marston constantly conscious of his own depravity. This this monk searching through the letter to the Romans. He founded 117 is answer and became the foundation stone of the Reformation today is All Saints Day is Halloween is All Saints Day corrupted it and because of what it is we remember about things. This verse Martin Luther stood on it drew strength from it and he talked about how God in his mercy came to is needed brought him brought him into his family by faith, that by the way is the only way you are like whatever command, not by works of righteousness which we do or by keeping every element of the law which we can, but by faith we trust in our God. This landed hard and solidly on Habakkuk. He got it. This began the change. God went on to say to him. There's more to my plan. I will wipe out the Chaldeans ultimately I'll bring the people of God out of captivity and you become again a nation you will have learned a lesson.

My plan will run its course.

So Habakkuk realized I must let God be God. As I stand back and wait for him to work now when I say that it sounds like a cliché. You heard it most of your Christian life. I'm going to stand back and wait for God to work so I decided to put that into statements simple one line statements. There are five of them five statements. I'm so firmly convinced that they will help you from this day on what you do find a place in your Bible for you've got a blank sheet of blank piece of of of the Bible paper look for it there. Maybe it's at the end of Habakkuk you have a little space to write these will be statements we embrace as we claim faith in our sovereign God you still want to live like that. I want to believe like that I want to have that kind of worry less faith and trust in my God, I'm tired of talking about it. I want to go there. I want to make that a reality. Here are the five statements please write them down ready God is able.

I am not at statement one just write it on the first line God is able. I am not is nothing a biker could do to fix his day to change people around them was a great day of my life and I realized I can't fix anybody but I serve a God who specializes in that he's able. I am not God is able. I am not. Here's the second he knows what's best. God knows what is best. I do not know because were probably people we think we do is why we keep doing what we think is best and we make a mess of things.

So when we embrace a life of faith and put our trust in the sovereign God we say to him God. You know what is best. I do not I do not.

I'm waiting for you to do what's best.

Here's the third he sees the and from the beginning. I cannot, God sees the end from the beginning sees it all. I cannot is called being infinite and we are finally he knows how all of this is going to work its way out. He knows all the answers. At the back of the book. No problem is solved to him.

We live in unsolved problems.

We can see other going to work out seasonal.

So this is third.

He sees the end from the beginning. I cannot with only had time for three points of application today, but there's much more ahead. This is insight for living and Chuck Swindoll has titled today study the integrity of waiting, not worrying. It's the eighth message in a 12 part teaching series from Chuck. The series is brand-new is called walking with integrity in times of adversity and if you like to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org and then let me give you a preview of what's ahead. Chuck will turn his attention from Habakkuk to Amanda. Jesus admired greatly and he'll be talking about the integrity of true humility.

Chuck will point to a man that defied convention. It was quite unusual, and John, the baptizer taught us what it means to magnify Jesus without drawing undue attention to self and a lot of these topics, Chuck suggested a biography for you to read. It's about Joseph, a man who modeled so many of the virtues we are addressing our new series.

The book is called Joseph a man of integrity and forgiveness. So if you're looking for your next inspirational read.

We highly recommend Joseph, a man of integrity and forgiveness to purchase a copy, if you're listening in the US, 1-800-772-8888 or go to insight.or/offer these daily visits with shockingly possible for your voluntary donation to give a contribution today go to insight.or/donate or, listening in the United States dial one 807 seven 288 covering more than ever insight for living ministries is determined to serve as a lavish guard for people all around the world longer smell the aroma of God's matchless a safe place where imperfect, sinful people were forgiven taught the truth and redeem there's a simple and effective way to leverage your support of Chuck Swindoll's ministry become a monthly companion in this emotionally charged you wrote were shouting matches were commonplace for people feel voiceless and overlooked in would you be among those who give generously so that we can spread the freight of God's grace to those this second chance become a monthly companion today. If you're listening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/monthly together.

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This, again, if you're listening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/monthly companion.

I'm Dave Speicher inviting you to join us. When Chuck Swindoll talks about the integrity of waiting, not worrying Tuesday on insight for living in the preceding message the integrity of waiting not worry was copyrighted in 2021 and 2022 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2022 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved for blind duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited