Habakkuk: (un)Reasonable Trust

By Nate Holdridge

At the end of the short book of Habakkuk, the prophet said that even if all the crops in Israel were to yield no produce and even if all the livestock in Israel died off, he would rejoice and take joy in God (3:17-18). Even if the earth suffered chaos in apocalyptic proportions, Habakkuk would trust God. God had made him strong, so he would move forward, trusting God despite all he saw (3:19). 

 

That is how the book ends. But it is not how it begins. At the start of his book, Habakkuk was reeling. He questioned God. He was upset at God. And he longed to know what God was doing because, in Habakkuk's mind, God wasn't doing anything.

 

So what happened that took this man from despair to trust? A conversation with God—a conversation recorded in these three brief chapters. In their dialogue, Habakkuk fixates on a problem as he saw it, God gives a promise to Habakkuk and the world, and Habakkuk then praises God for what he heard before concluding with a strong song of faith. The conversation changes Habakkuk. He progressed from worry to worship and from fear to faith.

 

In (un)Reasonable Trust, author-pastor Nate Holdridge considers the progression Habakkuk passed through. Seeing his process helps us develop a trust in God that is not based on reasons we can see with our own eyes or logic (unreasonable, or without reasons), but a trust that is based on his nature (reasonable, or with reasons). And this level of trust is what God desires. He said, "The righteous will live by his faith," and Habakkuk shows us a man who got there (Habakkuk 2:4).

• Language: English
• Publisher: nateholdridge.com
• Release date: Sep 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215315712

Book preview

(un)Reasonable Trust

The Book of Habakkuk

Nate Holdridge

Copyright © 2022 by Nate Holdridge

All rights reserved.

Under International Copyright Law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopy), recording, or otherwise without written permission from the Publisher. 

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Paperback ISBN: 9798215164341

Ebook ISBN: 9798215315712

First paperback edition September 2022

Edited by Elsa Dooling and Anne Jensen

Cover Art by BK Designs (bklingenberg.com)

Audiobook Engineering by Daniel Reed

nateholdridge.com

Contents

Dedication

1. Problem (Habakkuk 1)

A Song of Discouragement (1:1-4)

A Surprising Discipline (1:5-11)

A Statement of Disillusionment (1:12-17)

2. Promise (Habakkuk 2)

Patiently Wait (2:1-5)

Sing the Woes (2:6-20)

Be Filled With Wonder (2:14, 20)

3. Praise (Habakkuk 3:1-16)

A Prayer To Pray (3:1-2)

A Sight To See (3:3-15)

A Confession To Confess (3:16)

4. Trust (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Endures Devastation (3:17)

Finds Joy in God (3:18)

Gains Strength To Overcome (3:19)

About Nate

Books

Podcasts

Bibliography

To my firstborn daughter, Lauren. May God reveal himself to you as you sit on your watchtower.

1

Problem (Habakkuk 1)

The book Dune is set in the distant future. In one early scene, a young Paul Atreides is interrogated by a witch who represents a religious sect that helps rule the universe. She forces him to put his hand in a box that mysteriously produces terrible pain without damaging the flesh. She is testing him to see how he responds to suffering. At first, he winces and screams, but he holds his composure and determines not to withdraw his hand. He becomes resolved to endure pain.

At the end of the short book of Habakkuk, the prophet said that even if all the crops in Israel were to yield no produce and even if all the livestock in Israel died off, he would rejoice and take joy in God (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Even if the earth suffered chaos in apocalyptic proportions, Habakkuk would trust God. God had made him strong, so he would move forward, trusting God despite all he saw, despite the pain of his hand in the box (Habakkuk 3:19). At the end of the book, Habakkuk demonstrates remarkable trust in God.

That is how the book ends, not how it begins. At the start of his book, Habakkuk was reeling. He questioned God. He was upset at God. And he longed to know what God was doing because, from Habakkuk’s perspective, God was not doing anything.

So what happened that took this man from despair to trust? A conversation with God—a conversation recorded in these three brief chapters. In their dialogue together, Habakkuk fixates on a problem as he saw it, God gives a promise to Habakkuk and the world, and Habakkuk then praises God for what he heard—concluding with a strong song of faith. The conversation changes Habakkuk. He progressed from worry to worship and from fear to faith.

Because of this progression, I have given this book on Habakkuk the title Unreasonable/Reasonable Trust. I pray it helps us develop a trust in God that is not based on reasons we can see with our own eyes or logic (unreasonable, or without reasons), but a trust that is based on his nature (reasonable, or with reasons).

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A Song of Discouragement (1:1-4)

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. (Habakkuk 1:1–4)

A Burdened Prophet

We might not know Habakkuk’s backstory, but this quick introduction tells us a lot about him. First, we suspect he was a poetic man because this beginning statement is written in song form. And our suspicions will be confirmed in the final chapter