Introduction
Have you ever been driving in your car and began to sing a hymn out of the blue? Maybe you are having a rough day and you sing a song that brings hope to your heart! Often when I find myself singing a song those standing within earshot agree that it can be an awful sound! However, as I sing the words uplift me. It could just be the catchy musical beats or the rhyming word plays that sticks with me, however I think that it is often deeper than this because music often tells us a story – a story we can relate to and empathize with because of our own lives.

Growing up, one of my favourite songs was End of the Line by the Allman Brothers Band. Greg Allman lost his brother Duane early in life, had several failed marriages, and has had several bouts with substance abuse. The opening verse proclaims,

And now the gravity of trouble was more than I could bear,
At times my luck was so bad, I had to fold my hands,
Almost lost my soul, rarely I could find my head,
Wake up early in the morning, feeling nearly dead. 1

This song speaks about the crisis of Greg’s life, but it also echoes how we feel during these times as well. Predicaments in our own lives can often feel like more than we can bear; they make it hard to lift our heads and make us feel as if we had almost lost our soul. They bring us to the end of our own lines. I see rich wisdom in the words of this song. The second line is especially insightful; “At times my luck was so bad, I had to fold my hands!”2 This is not the time to debate whether Greg Allman possesses a genuine faith or not, but in these lyrics I see hope and wisdom. The misfortunes and calamities in our own lives bring us to our knees and can provide us with a faith building opportunity.

Text
In a vague way, the book of Habakkuk echoes Greg’s feelings of trouble, distress, and crisis. The book of Habakkuk was written during the twilight of Assyrian Empire (Vanhoozer, 286). The nation of Babylon is now knocking at the door, ready to conquer Israel. These were uncertain times for the nation of Israel. The marginalized groups were being pushed further to the fringes of society and the rich people were getting richer! Corrupt kings and religious leaders had lead Israel astray. Conflict, violence, and strife were all around them. The nation was crumbling and injustice was rampant. Israel needed an intervention!

In the opening chapter of this book, Habakkuk pleads with God to bring about justice and to fix this messy state of Israel. “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” But you do not save? Habakkuk cries out to God to help them, to save them from their uncomfortable crisis filled state. As we look at this book, we are brought to a place in the biblical story where Israel is in a crisis mode and things are up in the air, yet in this uncertain state a message of hope and renewal begins to bleed through the pages.

I find it interesting that in the Hebrew culture of the day, names had deep significance. Your name was your identity and it also said something about your character. I found out this week that the name Habakkuk means to embrace (Quartz Hill School of Theology)3. I wonder if he liked to hug or if he was open to new ideas.... Embrace. I wonder how Habakkuk embraced this situation of conflict and turmoil? Initially, we see his human response of despair and a sense of hopelessness in the opening verses of the book. Lord, look at this situation! Why is all this happening to me now? This is sometimes our response when crisis occurs. We all experience day’s like Habakkuk and we all sing similar songs of despair when we are at our wits end! This is our human response.

Coming back to my initial question: how does Habakkuk embrace this moment of predicament? As I moved through this short book, I came to see that a transformation takes place in Habakkuk and a spirit of hope bleeds through it. In his second complaint he exclaims, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.”(2:1). Habakkuk begins to walk towards God. (REPEAT). He picks himself up out his hopeless mindset and begins to actively wait upon the Lord. He not only waits upon God, but he begins to discern and engage with Him about his situation! Many times, the evil one wants us to remain in a state of hopelessness in times of crisis. Hopelessness is filled with fear, fear of the unknown! In reorienting his heart and mind towards God, walking towards God, and actively waiting upon the Lord, Habakkuk begins to step away from a state of despair and towards one of valiant hope.

I see hope and renewal in these verses we heard today: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known, in your wrath remember mercy (Hab. 3:2).” In this statement, we see that Habakkuk’s hope is strongly rooted in faith, but he also finds hope in God’s past providence. He may have recalled the Exodus from Egypt or the journey through the desert. He may have recollected how God blessed and protected David. He may have remembered all of God’s promises! Thinking of these things, Habakkuk placed his hope in God knowing that He has His hand in this situation. Habakkuk remembers all of great things that God has done and finds strength in that. He knew that God deeply loves them and because of this, God will renew them.

Application
Habakkuk’s hope is found in the history and the things God had already done for him. In this verse we see a change! Where is Habakkuk’s focus? What is his attention focused on? His mind is fixed on God! He was not looking around at the violence and the corruption, but he was looking up! Often when turbulent times come, we have a choice. Our eyes can be looking around at all the bad things that are happening and our hearts can be distracted by distress. We are then filled with the fear of the unknown, discouraged by what has happened, and preoccupied by the situation. It is so easy to do! Distraction, discouragement, and fear are tools that the evil one uses to take our focus away from God.
We do have a different choice than distress. Adversity can also be a catalyst for a stronger faith. We see this take place in scripture with David, Paul, and many others. We also see our faith and hope in Christ fortify in our own lives’ through adversity. These periods are uncomfortable and uneasy. We do not wish them on others, but it is here that we meet God. On our knees and with our noses between the pages of His word we are strengthened. In the chaos of life God meets us. In the chaos of life God brings about renewal. When life is turned upside down we need to focus on God, and remember his promises that are filled with love, and know that this situation is full of potential for renewal!
Conclusion
As we see in the book of Habakkuk, renewal sometimes begins in the midst of chaos. The book opens with feelings of fear, uncertainty, and things are falling apart. As we move on in this book, we see Habakkuk’s focus shifting from centering on the unfortunate situation Israel is in to seeing that God is holding Israel in His hands. Knowing that through His love, God will renew His people and that out of chaos God’s hand will transform the hearts and minds of people.
Pointing out the elephant in the room, our congregation is at a crossroad. What are we to do? In these two verses I hear God calling us to look to Him. We need to have faith that God’s hand is at work in this uncertain time and in this our faith and our community will be bolstered. Our church will be able to see and know that God’s hand will carry us through. We must hold to the promise that He is walking with us all and know that in the midst of chaos our hearts and our faith will be renewed. Renew us this day, Lord.

1 End Of The Line, By G. Allman, W. Haynes, A. Woody, and J. Jaworowicz,(c) 1992 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
2 End of the Line
3 http://www.theology.edu/biblesurvey/habakkuk.htm, nov 4

4 End Of The Line, By G. Allman, W. Haynes, A. Woody, and J. Jaworowicz,(c) 1992 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.