
At church we have been going through a sermon series titled 'Major lessons from minor guys' where we have had a look at some of the minor prophets of the bible. Last Sunday we looked at Habakkuk and found that he was struggling to see God in the chaos around him. As it was the youth lead service, I worked with some of the young people at church and we did a sort of 'modern day twist' on the book of Habakkuk and looked at how we can apply what we learn from him today...
Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.
Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
If you do this, you will experience God's peace,
which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.
His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:4-7
- Praise God
- Thank God
- Tell him what you need
After training ourselves to find God and focus on him even through the chaos, we wrote a little sketch which was like a sort of 'modern twist' on Habakkuk. We made a large poster (below) and displayed it across the back of the stage.
God, where are you?
I look around me and I see chaos everywhere.
Have you seen the war and conflict going on in the world?
Do you care about how people abuse substances like drugs and alcohol?
Have you seen the poverty? The people who have no food or homes?
What about all the pain and disease that people are suffering?
What about the people who get bullied at school or in the work place? Who comforts them?
God, where are you in all of this?
Reader two enters stage and peels some black letters off the banner, revealing the word 'here' in red.
He then goes on to read:
God is here, right in the middle of it all. Sometimes when we look around us it can be hard to believe that God is in control. Maybe he seems quiet or distant and we wonder if he really cares or if we can really trust him. The answer to both these questions is 'yes'.
We know we he cares because in 1 Peter 5:7 it says: "Give all your worries and cares to God because he cares about what happens to you."
We know that we can trust him because through the bible Jesus tells us "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
Just like Habakkuk, we can bring our concerns to God and trust that he has a plan.
End.
As the sketch finished we then invited the church to put into practice praying about difficult circumstances using the template found in Philippians and Habakkuk. We prayed for the persecuted church and for the difficult things we see around us in our nation, not only telling God about the troubles, but praising him, thanking him and telling him what we need. So maybe the next time you face a difficult situation you will be able to follow these steps and it will help you to keep perspective on how mighty, powerful and caring God is. If you ever find yourself asking "God, where are you in all this?" remember he's right here, in the middle of it all.