Enduring Faith in a Never Failing God

Years ago, there was a lake where I would take my daily walks. And on that lake was a mother duck and her twelve little ducklings. And each week as I walked around that lake, I counted fewer ducklings than before.

Finally, only three little ducklings would survive out of that group of twelve. Some would die off from infirmity. Some would be eaten by predators.

Some would die from the harsh conditions of the lake. I saw that it was hard to survive on that little lake. And life is hard, friends.

And oftentimes we wonder how we even make it through the hard times that we encounter as we walk through this world of ever-changing circumstances. My text can be found in the book of Habakkuk. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends.

We will be in verses 17 through 19. And in this striking passage of scripture, we will peer into the prophet's response to the hard season in his life and the lives of the people of God. The title of my message today, friends, is Enduring Faith in a Never-Failing God.

And let me read us our text at this time. Here now is the Word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of His Holy Word. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines, The labor of the olive tree shall fail, And the field shall yield no meat, The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls.

I will pause here, friends. Things are looking pretty bleak for the prophet here as he describes the dire conditions of when the fig tree has not blossomed. Number one, when hopes are not realized.

Number two, hardship is endured. Labor of the olive tree fails. Number three, heaviness is encountered through outward trial.

The fields yield no meat. Number four, heartaches experienced by losses. The flock cut off from the field.

And number five, heaven seems like a closed door, And no herd in the stalls. But despite all this, the prophet goes on to declare in verse 18, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Let me pause here, friends. Habakkuk is declaring that, even though sunny skies have been replaced by strong storms of adversity, and things look bleak and almost hopeless, that despite all this, I will rejoice in the Lord when there is no other reason to rejoice, that my joy is not in outward circumstances, whether plentiful and prosperous, or penury and privation. My joy is in the God of my salvation, that no matter my life's circumstances, I will live a God-centered life in submission to His will and providence.

I will live not for my own purposes, but for the glory of God, for my joy is not in material things, but in the God of my salvation. Let's continue with our text. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hind's feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places.

I will stop there. In other words, because the Lord God is my strength, hopes will be realized, hardships will end, outward circumstances will improve, because prayers will be answered. An enduring faith in a never-failing God looks beyond the temporary and the temporal, and focuses on things which are eternal and everlasting.

Verse 220 of this book declares the Lord is in His holy temple. There is security in that statement, friends. There is hope there.

Although our outward circumstances may look bleak and are beyond our control, a holy and almighty God sits on a sovereign throne of providence and purpose in our lives. We can look to Him and stand on His promises. We can lean on Him through our difficulties and trials, and we can rest our hope and joy in Him, because all things are in His control for our great good.

Romans 8, 28 declares, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. And the psalmist declares, And that speaks as well, friends, of an enduring faith in a never-failing God. Listen, friend, there is an old hymn which we seldom sing anymore, and that's unfortunate, for it states, I can state that personally, friends, from my own experience.

God will never let you go, and He will never let you down. An enduring faith in a never-failing God will get you through, get you through any test, any trial, and any tribulation. You can count on Him, friend, for God's word is true, and God is true to His word.

Let us say with Habakkuk that no matter how hard life gets out on the lake of our circumstances, that we too can say, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. And Jesus is not only worthy, He is worth it.

Let us pray.