Scroll down to view all five videos in this 5-week series.
Check Back: I’m still updating this. My plan is to offer more of the notes under each lesson. If you have any questions, leave a comment.
My goal is for you to be able to use these resources to:
— learn how to have joy in joyless times through Habakkuk and
— be able to use all these resources to teach this study in your church.
Habakkuk Understood the Struggle of Joyless Times
We live in emotionally charged times—like the prophet Habakkuk did ages ago. But we don’t want our emotions to drive us. We want to stand firm in the Truth of God’s Word—and rejoice.
Habakkuk’s cry to God in the midst of such joyless times mirrors our cries in our turbulent world.
God answered Habakkuk with a message he never expected and which brought terror to his heart. But the Truth of who God is and what He was doing held Habakkuk strong in the face of his fears and led his heart to praise and rejoice in the God of His salvation.
This powerful message will hold us and fill us with the same joy. God wants us to know what Habakkuk knew about Him so that we will rejoice today as Habakkuk did then—no matter what we must face tomorrow.
What to Expect From This Study
In this 5-part Bible study series, we’ll study the short book of Habakkuk using the “It’s All About Him!” Bible Study Method—a simple 3-step method God will use to transform your heart through His Word.
By the end of the study, you’ll be equipped to:
- Study any book of the Bible with the simple “It’s All About Him!” method to be transformed, not just informed.
- Discover the faithful path to joy in joyless times as Habakkuk did with a heart that rests in the Rock of our salvation and delights in all that He is—the Great I Am.
Part 1—Overview: 3-Step Method of It’s All About Him!
Download the Free Habakkuk Part 1 Handouts
Step 1—INTENT
What is the original intent of the author to the original audience?
Step 2—TRUTH
What does God reveal about Himself (His character, nature, and ways) and the other major characters in the passage?
Step 3—TRANSFORMATION
If we believe and act on what God has revealed, how will our hearts be changed and our lives be different tomorrow? In what ways will our lives prove we truly believe what we say we believe?
Discuss Step 1—INTENT
We discussed why we need to know today who the author and audience were back then.
We discussed how to find the author’s original intent, especially if we don’t have a study Bible.
Homework
Fill out the INTENT form on Habakkuk and read all three chapters of Habakkuk.
Part 2: TRUTH—Habakkuk 1
Download the Free Habakkuk Part 2 Handouts
Review Step 1—INTENT
We’ll review our Step 1—INTENT worksheet for the book of Habakkuk
Discuss Step 2—TRUTH
We’ll discuss the details of Step 2—TRUTH
Practice Step 2—TRUTH
We’ll practice Step 2—TRUTH together to discover what God reveals about Himself and the other main characters or themes in Habakkuk 1.
Homework
Fill out Step 2—TRUTH on the Worksheet for Habakkuk 1.
Part 3: TRUTH & TRANSFORMATION—Habakkuk 1
Download the Free Habakkuk Part 3 Handouts
Review Step 2—TRUTH
We’ll review our worksheet for Step 2—TRUTH for Habakkuk 1
Discuss Step 3—TRANSFORMATION
We’ll introduce Step 3—TRANSFORMATION and the Transformation Question:
If we believe and act on what God has revealed, how will our hearts be changed and our lives be different tomorrow?
Practice Step 3—TRANSFORMATION
We’ll practice Step 3—TRANSFORMATION on Habakkuk 1 together
Homework
Read and study Habakkuk 2 using the worksheet for Step 2—TRUTH and Step 3—TRANSFORMATION
Part 4: Habakkuk 2—By Faith, We Live. We Really Live!
Download the Free Habakkuk Part 4 Handouts
As I type this, history is being made. We’re waiting for the election results of the 2020 Presidential elections. We voted and wait, but God already wrote the election results in the heavens before He laid the foundations of the earth.
We can know this Truth in our head and yet, anxiety can still rise.
Sometimes our anxiety rises simply from forgetting the Truth we know about God.
Other times it comes from remembering that God often chooses hard paths for His people. Not knowing how much that path might hurt scares us.
How do we battle the anxiety?
We looked at this struggle in our Habakkuk study this week.
We looked at some of the scary circumstances God has led His people into. Think fire and lions.
We noticed how each of those rough roads led them to joy when they lived by faith.
These stories demonstrated that key verse Habakkuk 2:4. The Truth God gave in this verse has changed history more than once and it brings us freedom to rest with joy today:
“Behold, as for the proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith.”
-Habakkuk 2:4
When we look at how this verse played out for God’s people who were ripped from their homes and forced to serve their enemy, we see why we can get excited no matter who’s in the White House.
We can rejoice and look forward to everything God is doing in the world and in our lives. We can live. Really live. And rejoice.
Homework
Read and study Habakkuk 3 using the worksheet for Step 2—TRUTH and Step 3—TRANSFORMATION
Part 5: TRUTH & TRANSFORMATION—Habakkuk 3
Download the Free Habakkuk Part 5 Handouts
HABAKKUK JOY: Is Your Faith Fear-Footed or Sure-footed?
The power book of Habakkuk opens with the prophet confused over why God would allow such evil to continue in Judah. Habakkuk closes his book by exulting in the Lord and rejoicing in the God of his salvation.
He declared that even if they lose everything they own, God remains theirs forever. He is their salvation.
Habakkuk knew God’s promises are sure. He won’t fail them.
We’re able to look back at history and see that God did indeed save them. But even greater, God did indeed fulfill His promise to Israel to send a Savior through them—Jesus.
Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises, and He never fails.
He makes our faith surefooted rather than fearful. Secure, even when all else in our world is shaky. And He makes us walk high above our circumstances.
I’ll add many more study notes to this powerful last chapter soon, but for now, remember, if you place your faith in Christ, He is your salvation and your joy.
Even in joyless times, Christ makes our joy complete.
Don’t Miss Any Future Bible Studies or Videos
Sign up below to receive updates of future studies and posts.
