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[0:00] Amen. Habakkuk 3, verses 1-16, if you would stand with me as we honor the reading of God's word together.

[0:20] A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet according to Shigianoth. His brightness was like the light. Rays flashed from his hand, and there he veiled his power.

[0:56] Before him went pestilence and plague followed at his heels. He stood and measured the earth. He looked and shook the nations. Then the eternal mountains were scattered. The everlasting hills sank low.

[1:09] His were the everlasting ways. I saw the tents of cushion in affliction. The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Was your word against the rivers, O Lord?

[1:20] Was your anger against the rivers or your inclination against the sea when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation? You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows.

[1:31] You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and writhed. The raging waters swept on. The deep gave forth its voice. It lifted its hands on high. The sun and the moon stood still in their place.

[1:43] You were the most fearless at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear. You marched through the earth in fury. You threshed the nations in anger. You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed.

[1:57] You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. You pierced with his own arrows the head of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.

[2:10] You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters. I hear, and my body trembles. My lips quiver at the sound.

[2:21] Rottenness enters into my bones. My legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.

[2:33] May God add a blessing to the reading of his word. Would you please be seated? Amen. One of the most vivid memories I have as a child is when I was four years old.

[2:48] I was at one of my older sister's softball games, and I was playing under the bleachers with some of the other boys. And then this one kid came up behind me, and he yelled, Boo!

[3:00] And I was startled. And as most people do when they're startled, I jumped. And when I jumped, my head hit the bleachers that were above me.

[3:11] And that hurt. And I went to go find my mom. And when she saw me, her jaw dropped. My light blonde hair was turning red with blood flowing from the gash that I'd received at the top of my head from hitting the bleachers.

[3:28] What happened next is kind of a blur to me. I remember people making a fuss as they tried to stop my head from bleeding.

[3:39] I remember talking to the paramedics. And I remember refusing a ride in the ambulance because I wanted to ride with my parents to the hospital. And I remember in the car, my mom holding me in her arms as she prayed for me.

[3:57] And I remember saying something like this to her, I know you're talking to God, but why can't I see Him? And I remember her reassuring me that even though I couldn't see Him, He was there.

[4:14] I ended up getting four stitches on top of my head. As a matter of fact, I know exactly where they are. I can run my finger across that scar 36 years later.

[4:25] It's a scar that reminds me of my first traumatic experience in life. And it's a scar that reminds me of my first lesson in theology.

[4:37] Taught to me by my mother as she cradled me in her arms with blood-soaked hair and tear-stained eyes on the way to the hospital.

[4:48] That God loved me. That then things would be okay. Even though I could not see Him, God was there. Is God there?

[5:01] That's a question that many people will ask themselves. I think everybody will end up asking themselves that question. Oftentimes they'll ask that question in regards to God's existence.

[5:16] But there's another way that goes beyond God's existence in which people can ask that question. It's the way Habakkuk asked it in chapters 1 and 2 of this book.

[5:28] Habakkuk doesn't question the existence of God, but he does question God's presence. Asking questions like, God, do you see what I'm seeing?

[5:40] God, do you know what I'm going through? God, are you going to do something? Are you going to do anything about this? God, I desperately need your presence.

[5:53] God, are you there? This was Habakkuk's struggle. He didn't doubt God's existence. But he had questions. He had doubts.

[6:04] And in taking those questions and doubts to God, he received answers. Answers which perplexed him at first. But here in chapter 3, we find Habakkuk in a place where faith has emerged through his doubts.

[6:20] And a renewed confidence in God has resolved his fears. I ask you, have you ever been in that place before? Where you've asked that question.

[6:32] God, are you there? Maybe you're there today. And if you're there or if you've been there, guess what? You're in good company.

[6:44] In chapter 3, we hear Habakkuk's prayer to God in response to God's answer to his questions. And what we see is a transformation that is taking place in Habakkuk's attitude towards God.

[6:58] A transformation that resulted from God comforting his prophet by reminding him that he hasn't left him, nor has he forsaken him or his people. And through Habakkuk's prayer in chapter 3, verses 1 through 16, we learn this.

[7:14] This is the main idea for this morning's sermon. God transforms the hearts of those who have faith in him. God transforms the hearts of those who have faith in him.

[7:25] So in our text today, God informs us through his prophet Habakkuk what to do when we question his presence, when things are bad, when things don't seem to make sense, when you are tempted to believe that God has abandoned you to suffer in this world.

[7:43] Through this text, we learn that if that's the case, when that's the case, there's two things that you must do. And if you do them, God may not change your circumstances, but he will change your heart.

[7:58] He will change your attitude as you go through them. So the first thing that you must do when you're tempted to fear or to doubt God's presence and to wonder where is he, the first thing that you must do is you must turn to God.

[8:13] Turn to God. That's exactly what Habakkuk does here in chapter 3. He's already turned to God with his questions. He's already turned to God with his doubts and his concerns. And God has answered him in ways that at first perplexed Habakkuk.

[8:29] But later they renewed his faith in who God is and his plan that was greater than Habakkuk could at first understand. In these verses, we see a change in Habakkuk's tone, a change in Habakkuk's attitude towards God.

[8:48] Verse 1 begins like this, a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet according to Shigianoth. Now we're not sure what the word Shigianoth means, but Bible scholars believe that it is a musical term.

[9:00] In fact, the chapter ends with instructions for the choir master with stringed instruments. So this chapter is a song of prayer. Habakkuk turns to God in worship.

[9:14] Now to the world, this would seem like a strange response from Habakkuk. Habakkuk's persistent prayers in verses 1 through 4 of chapter 1 for national revival were not answered.

[9:27] At least they weren't answered in the way that he wanted. In fact, the answer that he did receive was the opposite of the one that he hoped for. God says judgment in the form of the evil Babylonians is on its way to you, to my people.

[9:44] That answer further confused Habakkuk as he wondered how could God permit his people to be conquered for their sins by a nation that is more sinful than they are.

[9:57] In chapter 2, verses 6 through 20, God informs Habakkuk that the Babylonians' time for judgment would come, but that he would preserve his people in the end by his grace.

[10:09] But he would not do the same for the Babylonians. Now there's nothing wrong with bringing your hard questions to God. There's nothing wrong with bringing your complaints to God.

[10:22] God wants you to be honest with him. Why wouldn't you? He already knows what's on your heart and what's on your mind. God wants you to be honest with him. But if you want to experience God's presence during times of hardship, then like Habakkuk, you must begin with worship.

[10:41] If you want to experience God's peace, you must first reflect on who God is. And that's what Habakkuk does in verse 2. He says, Habakkuk is referring to the plans that God has revealed to him about what he will do to the Babylonians.

[11:04] And those plans have elicited a holy fear of God in the prophet's heart. And Habakkuk realizes that though his people will be disciplined for their sin and there will be suffering, ultimately that suffering will result in a greater good.

[11:20] He understands that it's better to be a child of God who suffers his discipline than an enemy of God who faces his wrath. But he knows the days ahead will be difficult.

[11:32] He understands that there will be suffering. And so he pleads with God in the rest of verse 2. And he says, In the midst of the years, when these things come, revive it.

[11:43] In the midst of the years, make it known. In wrath, remember mercy. So Habakkuk turns to God in prayer, asking that he would revive his people's hopes in him in the years to come when they were suffering at the hands of the Babylonians.

[11:59] To have their eyes lifted up to heaven. That God would remember the promises that he made to preserve his people so that when this suffering came, his people would endure and his people would not lose heart.

[12:16] You know, some of the greatest Christian hymns in poetry are a product of those who have suffered tremendously. Horatio Spofford lived from 1828 to 1888.

[12:31] Early in his life, he experienced great financial success through his legal practice. But his true passion was for the Lord and for his word and for his church.

[12:43] And so Horatio Spofford developed a close relationship with a man named D.L. Moody. Many of you probably know who D.L. Moody is, a great, great pastor and theologian. In 1871, Spofford invested heavily in real estate on the shore of Lake Michigan.

[13:00] Shortly afterwards, Horatio's four-year-old son died of scarlet fever. And then several months after that, his real estate investments literally went up in flames in the great Chicago fire of that same year.

[13:19] Desiring for rest with his wife and his remaining four children, his four daughters, and wanting to be with D.L. Moody as he made his next campaign in Great Britain, Spofford planned a European trip for his family in 1873.

[13:42] However, due to unexpected last-minute business developments, he had to remain in Chicago, so he sent his wife and his four daughters ahead of him as scheduled, hoping to follow them in just a few days.

[13:55] On November 22nd, the ship carrying his wife and his four girls was struck by another ship in a horrific accident.

[14:10] In 12 minutes, their ship sank. His wife survived, but his daughters, all four of them, drowned. Safely ashore, Mrs. Spofford informed her husband of what happened in just two words, a two-word cable that she sent to him.

[14:31] Saved alone. Shortly afterwards, Spofford boarded a ship to be with his bereaved wife, and as his ship entered the waters where his children drowned, he was moved to pen the words to the hymn, It is well with my soul.

[14:54] What makes that hymn so amazing is how Spofford does not dwell on the theme of life's sorrows and trials, but his focus and his attention is on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and his promised return.

[15:12] It is a hymn that the Lord has no doubt used to mend many suffering hearts and to turn many downcast eyes to him. I want to read the verses of that hymn to you, and as I read them, hear the words of a father suffering tremendous and tragic loss, but he takes heart in knowing his heavenly father, who suffered the loss of his only begotten son to save us and to give us eternal life.

[15:46] When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.

[16:03] Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blessed assurance control that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed his own blood for my soul.

[16:18] My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.

[16:29] Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight.

[16:41] The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

[16:52] Oh, my soul. In this life we will suffer. But that suffering is nothing compared to the suffering that Jesus Christ endured as he was forsaken on the cross for us.

[17:12] So that by faith in him we are saved. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit who will preserve us until that coming day when faith shall be sight.

[17:26] And you know, here's an amazing thing. Christ is always our example. And I love these little things in Scripture. Matthew 26, 30, it says there, and when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

[17:42] You see, Jesus is on his way with his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane here. A place where he would be betrayed with a kiss. And then he would be arrested.

[17:53] Then he would be spit on, slapped, mocked, beaten, crucified. And here Jesus, the perfect Son of God, who had become the perfect sacrifice of God, stood by his friends and led them as the perfect worshiper of God.

[18:12] Right here in the moments leading up to his being forsaken by the Father, he turned his confused disciples to God in praise. In trying times.

[18:24] Turn to God. In trying times. Turn to God in praise and in prayer. Remember who he is. Remember what he has done for you in Jesus Christ.

[18:38] Remember what he has accomplished for you on the cross. And understand that in Christ there is always hope. You can always. And you should always turn to him.

[18:53] Philippians 4, 4 or 7 reminds us, rejoice in the Lord always. Underline always. Not just when you feel good or sometimes. Rejoice in the Lord always.

[19:05] Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. The Lord is present. Do not be anxious about anything.

[19:19] Underline anything. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And here's the promise. You turn to God and you do this.

[19:31] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You know, there have been a few times in my life when I've been so overcome with sorrow that I found myself face down on the ground in prayer.

[19:55] And in those times when I would arise, though my circumstances hadn't changed, at least to my knowledge, my heart had changed.

[20:10] God had changed my heart. Because God, in His way through His Spirit, as He does, reminded me of the hope that I always have in Jesus.

[20:22] A hope that can never be taken away. and a reminder that God is there. He's always there. And if you're tempted to doubt that, the first thing that you need to do is to turn to Him.

[20:38] Habakkuk turned to God and God transformed his heart and He'll do the same for you. So you turn to God when you are feeling like you aren't sure if He is there.

[20:50] And secondly, once you turn to God, you trust in God. You trust in God. If you want to be assured of God's presence in trying times, you must turn to Him and you must trust in Him.

[21:02] Habakkuk has turned to God in worship and in prayer and now he reminds himself that God is someone whom he can trust. Because God has proved Himself to be trustworthy over and over again.

[21:14] Beginning in verse 3, Habakkuk recites how God has continually delivered His people through suffering. and remembering how God has delivered His people in the past, Habakkuk's trust in God is strengthened is in the present by the truth that a future deliverance from His present suffering and circumstances awaits.

[21:33] That's what Habakkuk does right here. He takes sort of like this trip down memory lane where he turns to God and he gives attention to God's past faithfulness, how He's proved Himself over and over and over again as someone who He can trust.

[21:52] In verse 3, the beginning, He says, God came from Taman and the Holy One from Mount Perrin. Taman was the name of the region known as Edom which was south of Israel. Mount Perrin is an ancient designation for the Sinai wilderness.

[22:06] And so both of those locations allude to the locations where God demonstrated His awesome power in giving Israel the promised land. Habakkuk continues in the rest of verse 3 and verse 4 saying, His splendor was like the light.

[22:21] Rays flashed from His hands and there He veiled His power. This imagery pictures the way God physically manifested His presence through the pillar of fire and cloud as He led His people out of Egypt, out of their slavery, how He led them to victory.

[22:40] Verse 5 refers to how God executes His judgment of sin. Before Him went pestilence and plague followed at His heels. This pictures the warning that Moses gave to Pharaoh back in Exodus chapter 5 verse 3.

[22:55] If God's people were not to be set free to worship Him, then God would deliver His people from Pharaoh's hands by force. It also pictures the way God purged His people of their sin during their wilderness wanderings when they forsook His grace and they turned to idols.

[23:14] Habakkuk continues this trip down memory lane in verses 6-7. He stood and He measured the earth. He looked and shook the nations. Then the eternal mountains were scattered. The everlasting hills sank low.

[23:26] His were the everlasting ways. Here Habakkuk reminded himself that immovable objects are crushed by the awesome power of God.

[23:41] Growing up I was a huge wrestling fan. Professional wrestling fan. And one of my great heroes was Hulk Hogan.

[23:53] At WrestleMania 3 Hulk Hogan faced the greatest challenge of his professional wrestling career. He faced the 7'4 520 pound Andre the Giant.

[24:13] And the match I can still hear Gorilla Monsoon say it in my head. This match he said is between the unstoppable force and the immovable object.

[24:26] What will happen when the unstoppable force collides in the ring with the immovable object. And I remember as Andre the Giant had Hulk Hogan in his bear hug and seemed like he was squeezing the life out of him all of a sudden he got this burst of energy and he started pounding Andre the Giant with his fists and then he did the unimaginable.

[24:51] He picked him up scooped him up the immovable object lifted him up on his shoulder and slammed him to the mat for the win. Now I thought professional wrestling was real and I thought that I had experienced and witnessed a miracle the unstoppable force had moved in fact the immovable object.

[25:17] And so what Habakkuk pictures here is all of creation this immovable object as immovable as all these things in creation may seem but they're moved by the unstoppable force who is God their creator.

[25:37] God is everlasting. God's ways are eternal. All is laid low before him. There is no match for God.

[25:48] Verse 7 says I saw the tents of cushion and affliction the curtain of the land of Midian did tremble. This is a picture of these nomadic peoples. People who lived out in the podunks or the boondocks the ones who are the last to receive news and he says here even these people out here they're going to hear the news they're going to see and know about the almighty God and they will tremble when they do.

[26:13] In verses 8-11 Habakkuk describes God as a divine warrior. In verse 8 was your wrath against the rivers oh Lord was your anger against the rivers or your indignation against the sea when you rode on your horses on your chariot of salvation.

[26:28] These verses depict how God vanquished the Egyptians who pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea. How God opened up the river and allowed his people to pass through. He delivered them but their enemies were swallowed up in a devastating defeat at the hands of God.

[26:45] Habakkuk continues you stripped the sea of your bow calling for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and writhed. The raging water swept on. The deep gave up its voice.

[26:56] It lifted its hands on high. It's worshiping. The sun and the moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped at the flash of your glittering spear. And here the standing still of the sun and of the moon reminds us of Joshua 10 verses 12-14 where the Lord made the sun and moon stand still in their place for an entire day while his people gained the victory and defeated the Lord's enemies.

[27:22] Next, Habakkuk looks forward to the destruction that awaits the Babylonians. Yes, they will come and they will conquer but eventually the Lord will destroy them in verses 12-15.

[27:34] You marched through the earth in fury. You thrust the nations in anger. You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck.

[27:47] You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret. You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.

[28:02] And all of that did happen. God did act on behalf of his people, just as he had done before, just as he still will do one day.

[28:17] In Revelation, Babylon is used as a symbol to describe a future nation controlled by Satan who will oppose God's people.

[28:28] Just as ancient Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and were judged for that, so the future enemies of God will persecute believers who are now temples of the Holy Spirit and they will face the final judgment of that when Jesus Christ returns as a conquering warrior king to establish his kingdom as pictured in Revelation chapter 19 verses 11 through 16.

[28:57] Now, these verses ought to excite you. I love this passage of scripture describing Jesus when he returns.

[29:08] Then I saw heaven open and behold a white horse. The one sitting on it is called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

[29:23] His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped with blood and the name by which he is called is the word of God.

[29:42] And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen white and pure were following him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

[29:58] He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the almighty on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written king of kings and lord of lords.

[30:15] Jesus Christ is our warrior king. He is the lamb of God who takes away our sin but he is also the lion of Judah who overcomes anyone and anything that stands to oppose him.

[30:31] He is a king whose clothes are already dripped in blood symbolizing the great battles that this great king has already won on behalf of his people and who was raised and reigns forever having conquered sin, Satan, and death.

[30:51] There is always reason to trust in God. And like Habakkuk, when we remember these things, when God calls these things back to our mind, we should respond to him as Habakkuk did in verse 16.

[31:09] I hear and my body trembles. My lips quiver at the sound. I realize who I am.

[31:21] My rottenness enters into my bones. My legs tremble beneath me. Who am I? You are God. And so he says, yet I will wait quietly for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.

[31:41] Habakkuk is humble before God. And his present circumstances have physically drained him. Yes, he is exhausted, yet he says, I will wait quietly knowing that this time will come to an end because God has proven to be the savior of his people in the past, in the present, and in the future.

[32:07] He is the savior of every generation. So the main point of application is this. In trying times, in trying times, remind yourself of who God is and remember what he has done.

[32:26] He here is something I do that helps me remember God's faithfulness in trying times where I am tempted to wonder about his presence.

[32:42] I have a bunch of Ebeneezers scattered throughout my office. Now, I am not talking about Ebenezer Scrooge, whose name has become synonymous with greed and miserliness, though he was transformed in the end.

[33:01] The name Ebenezer actually comes from the Bible. In 1 Samuel 7, during the end of the time of the judges, Israel experienced a revival under the leadership of Samuel.

[33:16] The nation repented of their sin, they destroyed their idols, and they began to earnestly seek the Lord. And so Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah, where they confessed their sin, and where he offered sacrifice on their behalf to God.

[33:34] During this time of worship and repentance and renewal, the enemy launched a sneak attack on God's people, and Israel went out to battle. 1 Samuel 7, 10-12 describes that moment.

[33:48] As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel.

[34:01] And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them as far as below Beth-kar. Then Samuel took a stone, and he set it up between Mizpah and Shenn, and he called its name Ebenezer.

[34:17] For he said, Till now the Lord has helped us. Ebenezer means stone of help. From then on, every time an Israelite saw that stone that had been erected by Samuel, he would have a tangible reminder of the Lord's power, of the Lord's protection.

[34:37] And so in my office over the course of years in ministry, I've received a lot of gifts. I have paperweights. I have thank you cards. I have pictures.

[34:50] I have many things that are reminders to me of the way God has encouraged me throughout the years and during times when I felt down, during times when I was tempted to fear, during times that were hard, and I look at those things and they remind me of God's power, and they remind me that till now, the Lord has helped me.

[35:18] Ultimately, I, like you who believe, have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who reminds me during those times that I have a hope in Christ that no amount of suffering can ever diminish.

[35:34] And you know, it's often through those times of suffering that God has done the greatest work in my life. Is that true for you too? It's in the valley where things grow.

[35:48] It's in the valley where our focus is sharpened on God and our vision becomes clear. One of the greatest Christian poems I think ever was written anonymously.

[36:00] It's called The Valley of Vision. I want to read it to you. Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights.

[36:18] Hemmed in by mountains of sin, I behold thy glory. Let me learn the paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear a cross is to wear a crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision.

[36:48] Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells, and the deeper the wells, the brighter thy stars shine. Let me find thy light in darkness.

[37:03] Thy life in my death, thy joy in my sorrow, thy grace in my sin, thy riches in my poverty, thy glory in my valley.

[37:18] It's neat the way that God works. I finished my sermons on Thursday, and by that time the music for Sunday has already been selected, and I knew I was going to talk about Horatio Spofford and the background behind that hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.

[37:37] Tyler being sick meant that we learned this morning that Elaine changed some things with the worship service, and she let me know about that after the praise team had practiced, and she told me that one of the songs we're going to sing is It Is Well With My Soul.

[37:50] Now I give my sermon to those in the back so that they're ready to put up the slides when it comes time to preach, and so I thought she probably had heard word from them that I was going to use that sermon.

[38:02] So I said, did you heard that? She said, no, this morning the Lord laid that on her heart to put in our worship service. And so I know that when God works like that, it makes you pay attention, doesn't it?

[38:18] And He pays attention to you. He knows you. He knows what you're going through. And what He's saying to you, this morning is don't run away from me.

[38:31] Don't be tempted to think that I don't know about you, I don't care about you, or that my presence is absent from you. What I want you to do is turn to me. And I want you to trust in me.

[38:43] Turn to Him. Trust in Him. Three questions of application as we close. Question number one. How did remembering what God had done change Habakkuk's attitude toward his present situation?

[38:59] How did thinking about what God had done in the past affect the way that Habakkuk's attitude towards God in the present? Question number two. Have you experienced a time when you wondered if God was there?

[39:11] How did God reveal Himself to you during that time? And how did it change your attitude towards Him? God and finally do you have any Ebeneezers?

[39:22] How does God use those stones of help to strengthen our resolve in Him? I'm going to pray and we'll have a time of invitation. We're going to sing It Is Well With My Soul.

[39:35] If you need to pray and now's the time for you to turn to God, I encourage you to come up during that time and pray and turn to God. If you need me to pray for you, I'll be right down here. I'd love to pray for you. Whatever the case may be, turn to God and trust in Him always and He will transform your heart.

[39:53] Let's pray. Lord, thank You for this word. God, thank You for its reminder that You are a God whom we can turn to, that You are a God who has proven over and over again to be trustworthy.

[40:07] Lord, You know us inside and outside and intimately and ways, Lord, that no one else could ever know us. You know the things, Lord, right now as people have heard the sermon, those who are here, those who are listening online, Lord, You know what's going on in their lives.

[40:26] You know what's going on in their hearts. You know, Lord, those who are tempted in their times of despair and suffering and what they see happening in the world, what they see happening in their lives, question and wonder, God, are You there?

[40:37] And Lord, I pray that today through Your words You have encouraged and that in fact You are here. And it's when we are tempted to doubt Your presence that we must seek Your presence most, that we must turn to You and trust in You.

[40:51] And the promise that we have in Habakkuk, the promise that we have from Your Word is that, Lord, You will change our hearts and our attitudes and our minds when You focus our attention back on You.

[41:03] That it's down in the valley, Lord, where the growth truly takes place, where You work in ways in our lives that put everything into focus. So, Lord, I pray that You would do that for us so that we, Father, would be people who live rejoicing in You in the hope that we have in Jesus Christ that nothing on this earth can take away and should never diminish.

[41:25] We ask these things in His name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[41:36]  Amen. Amen.