Praise the Lord… ANYHOW!

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Habakkuk 3:17-18

While I was going to college at Midwestern, I worked as a surface grinder making carbide tools at Dikar Tool Co.  I had a Kennedy tool box by my machine, and in the lid of my tool box I had a bumper sticker of a cartoon depicting  a person falling on their butt and exclaiming, “Praise the Lord, ANYHOW!”  The idea behind that statement is, we should praise the Lord in spite of whatever happens to us. Praise the Lord when life trips us, and praise the Lord when we are standing firm. Praise God when times are good and when the times are bad. Our circumstances should never control how we praise God.

Is there ever a time when we should NOT praise the Lord (Psalm 34:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:16)?

Paul and Silas were beaten and cast into the inner prison at Philippi.  Their feet made fast in the stocks. They were quarantined. Not the best of circumstances. Yet, the Bible says, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and SANG PRAISES unto God, and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25). Instead of whining about their situation, they praised God instead… and they were not timid about it—“and the prisoners heard them.”  They were praising the Lord with a loud voice (cf. 2 Chron. 20:19). Psalm 98:4 says, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a LOUD noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”

How’s your praise been lately? Has the coronavirus tone down your praise?  The Hoppers used to sing a song titled: “Don’t Let the Battle Steal Your Praise.” It’s amazing how little it takes to steal the praise from our lips.

Habakkuk was a prophet in Judah. He has already witnessed the northern tribes taken into captivity by the Chaldeans. Now it looks like Judah will be taken also. Habakkuk was somewhat perplexed about the situation.

1)  Why does it seem like God doesn’t care (1:2– “O Lord, how long…” – How long is this going to go on?). When are You going to do something?

Habukkuk wonders, “Why doesn’t God judge His people for their sins?“ (1:3-4)?

In verses 5-17, God lets Habukkuk know He is about to do something about Judah’s sin. But, God’s resolve is not what Habukkuh wanted to hear—The Chaldeans are coming to execute judgment against Judah.

So, Habukkuk now ponders…

2)  Why would God use a wicked nation like the Chaldeans to bring judgment upon His chosen people? The Chaldeans are worse than Judah. God should not use them!

You can understand why Habukkuk’s is somewhat confused.

In chapter 2, God makes Habukkuk to understand what is happening is a vision of a future time (the tribulation period). Therefore, Habukkuk just needed to trust God (2:4). “Trust me! Have faith. I know what I’m doing!”

Habukkuk needed to see the situation with God’s eternal perspective. There is coming a time when, “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14). No matter what the situation looks like now, it’s gonna happen – You have God’s Word on it!

God is up to something today. As one Gospel song says, “When you’re down to nothing, God is up to something.” Amen!  In spite of what is happening, God is still on the throne (2:20) and knows what He is doing, even if we don’t!

So in chapter three, as Habukkuk finally understands what is going on, he prays (3:1). At the end of his prayer, he says…

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields 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 God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. (3:17-19).

If Habukkuk were writing this today, he may have put it this way:  “Though my health is failing, and I’m having trouble making ends meet… and though Wall Street should crash and my investments go down the tubes… and though I should be laid off from my job and there be no toilet paper in my bathroom—Yet I will praise the Lord and rejoice in the God of my salvation.

• In verse 18, Habukkuk says “I will” two times – “I will rejoice” and “I will joy.”
• Now, notice the “he wills” in verse 19. What God will do in verse 19 makes it possible for what Habukkuk will do in verse 18.

The name Habakkuk means “to cling.” So, with nothing else to cling to, Habukkuk clings to the Lord, because…

1. God was his STRENGTH—“…The Lord God is my strength,” (3:19).
2. God was his SECURITY—“…he will make my feet like hinds’ feet” (3:19). A “hind” is a kind of deer noted for its swiftness and surefootedness. As the hind runs through the forest, it’s feet never falter and never stumble. Every step is secure. That is what God will do for you when you trust Him.
3. God was his SUCCESS—“…he will make me to walk upon mine high places” (3:19). Instead of being down and depressed, Habukkuk knew God would take him to “high places” above the doubt and distractions of earth. Ultimately these “high places” would be above the heavens!

Let me tell you a little secret— God wants you to be joyful! I know some Christians who look like if they smiled, it would hurt their face. Some Christians look like they were baptized in vinegar! The Bible says that we should rejoice! You don’t have look like a ole puffed up bull frog sitting on a log. You don’t have to look like the picture on your driver’s license. In spite of what is happening around you, you can still praise the Lord… ANYHOW!

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 42:5, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall YET praise him for the help of his countenance. As the Bill Gaither song says, “Let’s Just Praise the Lord.”

A man was shipwrecked on a deserted island. Every day he prayed that he would be rescued. He built himself a hut for a shelter from the rain and cold, but one day his hut caught fire and burned to the ground. He got angry, and in frustration he shook his fist at God and said, “Isn’t it bad enough that I’m deserted on this island and now You take away my hut too?”

A few hours later a ship arrived and rescued the man. The captain of the ship told the man, “When we saw your smoke signal, we stopped to rescue you!”

It is hard to praise God when your hut is on fire. However, we need to praise God in all circumstances, because He is working it out for your good if you love God (Rom. 8:28).

YET I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. —Habakkuk 3:18

PRAISE THE LORD.., ANYHOW!!!