[Habakkuk 3:1-16]
Right after we moved here, I had to get my physical to be evaluated for life insurance. As the nurse checked me out, she noticed that my blood pressure was a little high. So, she asked, “Is your blood pressure normally high?” I said, “No, but I did just move my family to another state and a new community.” She looked at me and laughed and said, “That’ll do it.” Interestingly, right after that conversation I read something that described moving as one of the most stressful events in life.
The question is, “Why?” Why is moving so stressful? There are numerous reasons, but one primary underlying reason. Moving causes you to enter into a neutral zone in your life. You’ve left something behind but haven’t really grabbed hold of the next place. Some people describe this by using the analogy of the trapeze. The neutral zone is that time when you let go of your bar but haven’t grabbed the other one. The period when you’re hanging there—in between—with nothing to hold on to. That’s a very uncomfortable place to be, right? You’ve just lost everything that you’ve known and held dear, but you haven’t replaced it with anything yet. You feel a little lost. You’re extremely uncomfortable. And, people don’t like feeling uncomfortable. They don’t like hanging there without anything to hold onto, so they start grabbing onto anything and everything they can, trying to find some form of stability. It’s filled with anxiety and fear and frustration and lack of motivation.
Now, take a moment to apply all of that to our current situation. We’re in a neutral zone right now. The pandemic—and many of the policies surrounding the pandemic—has forced us to move. We’ve lost many things we loved and held dear, but we haven’t been able to grab hold of anything new. The old has passed away, but the new hasn’t come yet. We’re just floating here in mid air and we don’t like it, right? We’re really uncomfortable. We keep trying to grab hold of things, trying to find something to hold onto, trying to find some form of stability. That’s why there’s so much anxiety and fear and frustration and lack of motivation. We’re all stuck in this neutral zone and unsure what is going to happen next. How do we live in these times and seasons of life?
That’s the season that Habakkuk is talking about in this morning’s passage. He doesn’t call it the neutral zone. He calls it “In the midst of the years…” (Habakkuk 3:2, ESV). In the midst of what years? So far in this book we’ve talked about two major events. The first event is the judgment of Israel by Babylon. The second event is the judgment of Babylon. When Habakkuk refers to the period of time in between the years, he’s talking about the period of time in between these two events. When Israel had lost everything and had been taken away into exile, but hadn’t been redeemed or restored yet. They’re in this neutral zone position. They’ve lost everything they once held dear, but it hasn’t been replaced yet. They’re in a foreign land with nothing to hold onto. They’re in that spot between the two trapeze lines—floating in mid air. How do they live in this time?
First, we need to notice that this is described as a prayer but there’s more to it. We read, “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.” (Habakkuk 3:1, ESV). Now, I have to admit that scholars don’t necessarily know what a shigionoth is—there’s quite a few opinions on it. However, the other place that word is used in the Bible is in the Psalms and it says that David sang a shigionoth. So, it seems to have something to do with a song. That means we can fairly confidently understand this as being both a prayer and a song—like most of the Psalms.
Here’s why that’s really important. Remember what God told Habakkuk to do with this vision? God told Habakkuk to make this vision so clear that future generations would be able to understand it and proclaim it to their people. So, what does Habakkuk do? He writes a prayer/song that will be passed down from generation to generation. He gives them something they could pray and sing daily in the midst of their neutral zone. You could also say that Habakkuk gives God’s people this prayer/song to hold onto when they have nothing else to hold onto—when they’re tempted to despair in Babylon, when their anxiety runs high, when their fears overwhelm them, when they don’t think they can go on.
This is a powerful reminder for us when we find ourselves in our own neutral zone—when we feel like we’re floating without anything to hold onto. We must hold onto prayer and song DAILY. John Calvin says, “Let us then bear in mind, that the way of fostering true religion, prescribed here to the miserable Israelites while dispersed in their exile, was to look up to God daily, that they might strengthen their faith; for they could no have otherwise continued in their obedience to God.” (133). So, Habakkuk gives God’s people this prayer/song as a guide to lead them through the neutral zone—for them to use daily as a tool to keep their eyes fixed on God.
That’s why the prayer/song begins by saying, “O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2, ESV). He begins by saying that he’s heard of the works of God. He knows what God has done in the past and throughout the earth and for his people. So, at the beginning of his prayer he asks God to revive those works and to make those works known in this neutral zone—in this floating period. They need to be reminded of God’s works in this time. He also asks that God would remember his mercy in the midst of his wrath.
Then he goes on to describe some of the works of God in this prayer/song. Basically the entire song is written to remind God’s people of the powerful works of God throughout history. Every sentence is an allusion to a different story from the Old Testament. We read, “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.” (Habakkuk 3:3–4, ESV). This is talking about God on Mt Sinai—when he shook the mountain and gave the Ten Commandments. The people saw God’s power and trembled in fear. They pleaded for Moses to be a mediator between them and God because they feared his power and his glory. Even when Moses came down from the mountain, it said that his face glowed so brightly that he had to place a veil over his face so he didn’t cause fear amongst the people.
Then we read, “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. His were the everlasting ways.” (Habakkuk 3:5–6, ESV). We’re given a picture of God being so powerful that he stands over the earth and measures it. God is powerful enough to control plagues and pestilence throughout the earth. God is pictured as so powerful that he can scatter the eternal mountains and the everlasting hills. That means God is powerful enough to remove the pillars that hold up the earth. This God is from everlasting. He existed before the earth was formed. He placed the foundations of the earth and can shake them if he wants—he can even remove them.
Interestingly, after spending a few verses describing God and his works in the third person, things switch. Rather than talking about God, the prayer/song changes to talking to God. It no longer says “he, he, he” but “you, you, you.” There’s a switch from simply remembering God’s powerful works. Now, we’re praising God for his powerful works.
We read, “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 moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.” (Habakkuk 3:10–11, ESV). God is in control of the mountains and the waters. He can make the waters stop and split for God’s people but can also make the waters rage and destroy the Egyptian army. God can make the sun and moon stand still to help his people win a battle.
Throughout all of these things, there has been one major theme: salvation. We read, “When you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?…You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed.” (Habakkuk 3:8, 13, ESV). As we remember God’s powerful works and praise God for his powerful works, we need to be reminded that these powerful works had one purpose—the salvation of God’s people. Why did God come to them in power on Mt Sinai? To bring salvation to his people. Why did God show his power by causing plagues and pestilence to come upon Egypt? To bring salvation to his people. Why did God part the waters of the Red Sea but bring them crashing down upon Egypt? To bring salvation to his people. God’s powerful works throughout history have been designed to bring salvation to his people.
This is the answer to the question, “How do we live in the neutral zone?” I want to elaborate on that by reading the lyrics to one of my favorite songs by my favorite band—The Gray Havens. Here the beginning of the song: “If I took all that I got And spread it out on this table It might not seem like alot A once glimmering joy Slowly fading from view All the change in my pockets, not enough And this picture of you Still I've heard all that I have In the moment is hardly a sign Of everything coming my way I believe when I need it, it will be mine So let's take this slowly All I need is coming But it's just beyond what I can see So if my eyes press forward in fierce alarm Just turn my head back to see To see how we got this far And I'll be alright.”
How do we live in this neutral zone? How do we live in those times when we feel like we’re floating—when we feel like we’ve lost what we once held dear but don’t see anything to grab hold of in front of us? This song—and our passage from this morning—tells us to stop, and take a look behind us to see how we got this far. Stop, take a look behind you to remember the powerful works of God throughout history. Stop, take a look behind you to remember the powerful works of God in your life. Remember those times when God saved his people from hopeless situations. Remember those times when God pulled you through a despairing situation. Then, remember that He is the same God NOW that he was back THEN. And you’ll be alright. The same God that parted the Red Sea, is the same God that is leading you through this neutral zone. The same God that upheld you and strengthened you in a time of deep distress, is the same God that is holding on to you right now. And you’ll be alright.
That’s how Habakkuk ends this passage. He’s really honest about how he’s feeling about everything going on. His response in this last verse is to the impending judgment on Israel AND to the things he’s just remembered about God. He says, “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; 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.” (Habakkuk 3:16, ESV). He’s really honest, isn’t he? He says that his body is trembling, his lips are quivering, his legs are shaking, his bones feel like they’re falling apart. He’s not looking forward to what’s coming. YET. Yet, he says, “I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.” He’s shaking at the thought of being overcome by Babylon. He’s shaking at the thought of losing everything he once held dear. He’s about to collapse thinking about living in a foreign land. Yet, he says, I will wait. I will hold onto my God and I will wait. I will look behind me and remind myself of the powerful works of God throughout history. I will look behind myself and remember the way God has repeatedly brought salvation to his people in powerful ways. And then I will wait for that same God to do it again for me.
That’s the faith that we’ve been talking about. Faith as the assurance of things hoped for. Habakkuk has assurance that God will eventually come and bring salvation to his people, so he waits. Faith is conviction of things unseen. Habakkuk can’t see the end of this judgment—he can’t see the deliverance—but his faith gives him conviction of things unseen. He knows that God has repeatedly saved his people in powerful ways, so he has faith that God will do it again. So, he is willing to wait in hope and confidence—he is willing to wait in faith—for God to come and deliver his people. He knows it will happen. He has no doubt about it. So, he waits in the neutral zone and keeps his eyes on God.
When we find ourselves in these situations—in these neutral zones—we have two temptations. On the one hand, we want to run back to our comfortable place. When we move, we dream about returning to what we knew. In this season of COVID, we dream about things going back to normal. On the other hand, we can too quickly grab hold of anything, trying to stabilize in whatever way possible. When we move, we can try too quickly to create relationships and routines for a “new normal.” In this season of COVID, many people have repeatedly been talking about a “new normal,” trying to create some sense of stability.
But this passage teaches us a different way to handle the neutral zone. We’re not supposed to run back to the place we’re comfortable, and we’re not supposed to hurriedly create something else comfortable. We’re called to wait quietly in faith. We’re called to be patient by faith. And, while we wait, we’re called to grab hold of our God through prayer and song. We’re called to remember the ways that God has worked in the history of his people to bring salvation, then wait quietly for him to do it again. We’re called to praise God for the many ways he’s delivered us throughout the years, then patiently wait for him to do it again. THAT’s where we find our stabilization in the neutral zone. We don’t try to return to it or create it ourselves. We find our stabilization in the God who powerfully works to bring salvation to his people. And as we remember these things and praise God for these things, we find stability and patience and we find our faith strengthened to wait for God. And as we wait, we can have confidence that the same God that powerfully delivered his people in the past—and delivered us in the past—will deliver us once again in his perfect timing.