Living by Faith

What good is faith in Jesus when your world is falling apart?

It's a raw, honest question that many of us have wrestled with in the quiet moments of our deepest struggles. When the job doesn't come through, when relationships crumble, when our carefully constructed plans collapse around us—what then? What good is faith when we can't even get our metaphorical locker open?

This piercing question sits at the heart of one of the Bible's most honest books: Habakkuk. Written in the decades before Jerusalem's destruction, this short prophecy speaks directly to those facing dark days, uncertain futures, and circumstances that simply don't make sense.

The Problem of Unanswered Questions
The prophet Habakkuk doesn't ease into his message with pleasantries. He launches immediately into complaint: "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you don't listen?" He looks around at a society self-destructing, at injustice running rampant, at violence and corruption everywhere. And he asks the question we've all asked: "Why aren't you doing anything, God?"

Here's what's remarkable: this isn't whispered doubt or hidden skepticism. This is Scripture. This is faithfulness. God invites us—actually invites us—to bring our honest questions, our raw emotions, our confusion and frustration directly to Him.

We don't have to check our brains at the door. We don't have to pretend everything makes sense when it doesn't. Faith isn't about maintaining a perfect religious facade. It's about bringing our whole selves, questions and all, into relationship with God.

When God's Answer Makes Things Worse
But here's where Habakkuk's story takes an unexpected turn. God answers his complaint—and the answer is worse than the silence.

"I'm raising up the Babylonians," God says. The Babylonians—a ruthless, violent empire known for their cruelty. God's solution to Judah's wickedness is to bring an even more wicked nation to execute judgment.

Habakkuk's response? A second complaint. "Wait, what? Your eyes are too pure to look on evil. Why would you use something so wicked to bring about justice? This doesn't add up!"

It's the age-old problem of evil in a different form. How can a good God use bad means? Why does suffering exist? Why do the wicked prosper?

Habakkuk doesn't get a simple answer. Instead, he gets an invitation to wait. To watch. To trust that God is playing the long game.

The Radical Call to Patience
After voicing his confusion, Habakkuk does something profound: "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the rampart. I will look to see what he will say to me."

Living by faith means being willing to wait for God's answer. It means holding our questions with open hands while maintaining a posture of humility. It means acknowledging that we don't see the whole picture.

God's response includes one of the most famous verses in all of Scripture: "The righteous person will live by his faithfulness." This single verse is quoted three times in the New Testament, becoming foundational to our understanding of salvation. We are made right with God not through our achievements, but through what we receive from Him—grace through faith in Christ.

God assures Habakkuk that yes, even Babylon will face judgment. The long game includes justice for everyone. The enemy may seem to prosper now, but God's righteous judgment will come.

The Foreshadowing of the Cross
There's a beautiful parallel here that points forward to the gospel. Just as God used the wicked nation of Babylon to accomplish His purposes, He would one day use humanity's greatest enemy—death itself—to bring about salvation.

When Jesus hung on the cross, it looked like defeat. It looked like evil had won. His disciples scattered, confused and devastated. How could God use something as wicked as crucifixion to save the world? It didn't make sense.

But God specializes in using what looks like defeat to accomplish victory. Just as He promised to destroy Babylon, He has promised to destroy death itself. And Jesus's resurrection is the down payment on that promise—the first fruits of a coming harvest when death will be swallowed up forever.

Joy in the Midst of Loss
The book of Habakkuk concludes with one of the most powerful expressions of faith in all of Scripture. After wrestling with God, after waiting for answers, after meditating on God's salvation throughout history, Habakkuk writes a song.

And what a song it is:

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

Read that again slowly. This is radical faith. This is what it means to live by faith—to have joy not because circumstances are favorable, but because our identity is secure in God.

Everything could fall apart. Every source of provision could dry up. Every hope could be disappointed. Yet I will rejoice. Yet I will be joyful.

When Faith Was Tested
Habakkuk's message wasn't just theoretical. Young men growing up in Jerusalem during his ministry would have sung these words in worship. They would have memorized this prophecy. Among them were three teenagers named Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

When Babylon invaded in 605 BC, these young men were captured and taken to Babylon. Their captors systematically stripped away their identity—giving them new names (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), new customs, a new diet, new values. Everything was designed to replace their faith with Babylonian culture.

Years later, when King Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden image and demanded that everyone bow down and worship, these three men faced the ultimate test. Which identity would win? Would they bow to the idol to save their lives?

Their response echoes Habakkuk's faith: "The God we serve is able to deliver us... But even if he doesn't, we want you to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

Though the fig tree does not bud, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

Church had prepared these young men to live by faith when it counted most.

Moving Jesus to the Top of the Deck
Our identity is like a deck of cards. For many of us, Jesus is somewhere in that deck. We believe in Him. We go to church. We call ourselves Christians. But when life deals us a difficult hand, Jesus isn't the card we play.

Instead, we play all our other identities—our achievements, our relationships, our careers, our appearance, our reputation. All the things we think will give us purpose and meaning and happiness.

Here's the difference: every other identity is something we achieve. Only Christ is something we receive. We don't earn our righteousness; we receive it as a gift. That's grace. That's faith.

Living by faith means moving Jesus to the top of the deck. It means making our identity in Christ the primary card we play in every situation.

Three Actions for Living by Faith
So how do we get there? Habakkuk shows us three practical steps:

Be honest. Bring your real questions, your real doubts, your real frustrations to God. He can handle it. Your acceptance before God isn't based on never complaining—it's based on the grace you've received through Christ.

Be patient. Wait for God's answer. Trust that He's working even when you can't see it. Recognize that God's timeline isn't always our timeline, but He's always right on time.

Be joyful. Choose joy not because circumstances are perfect, but because your identity is secure. Recount what God has done. Remember His faithfulness. Rejoice in the Lord even when the fig tree doesn't bud.

The Ultimate Question
What good is faith in Jesus? Everything. Absolutely everything.

When we receive our righteousness from Christ rather than trying to achieve it ourselves, we find freedom. We find peace. We find an identity that can't be shaken by circumstances, rejection, failure, or even death itself.

Faith isn't weakness—it's the open hand that receives the life God offers. It's resting in His grace rather than striving for approval. It's trusting that the God who saved us will complete what He started.

Though everything may fall apart, yet we will rejoice in the Lord. Our strength comes from Him. He makes our feet like the feet of a deer, enabling us to tread on the heights even in the darkest valleys.

That's what it means to live by faith.