Embracing Joy: Guest Writer Jean Wilund

My last, but definitely not the least, of my summer treat guests is Jean Wilund. I invited her to share an excerpt from her award winning Bible study, Embracing Joy: An 8-Week Transformational Bible Study of Habakkuk. As we gear up for Fall Bible studies, consider her study as you read an excerpt. Whether studying alone or with a group, you’ll experience the same powerful, life-altering truths that changed Habakkuk’s perspective long ago. No matter what we’re going through or what tomorrow brings, the God who transformed Habakkuk ages ago still reigns today—and He will transform us to live lives of hope and purpose.

 

Embracing Joy—Discover Lasting Hope No Matter What Lies Ahead

Has God ever seemed silent when you most needed help?

The prophet Habakkuk would answer yes. But through a heart-stopping conversation with God, he learned how to turn his panic into peace and transform his complaints into contentment in the Lord.

If we know and believe what Habakkuk did, we’ll respond in our darkest trials like Habakkuk—we’ll embrace joy.

These many truths motivated me to write Embracing Joy: An 8-week Transformational Bible Study of Habakkuk. Throughout the study, we dive into the turbulent world of Habakkuk—a world not that different from ours today. We discover what God revealed to this Old Testament prophet about Himself that empowered him to rejoice in the Lord even in one of Israel’s darkest periods in history.

For a snippet of just one of the many life-changing truths God revealed to Habakkuk, I want to share with you an excerpt from Embracing Joy.

Excerpt taken from:  Week One, Day Three

 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
—John 8:32

I have one brother, and he’s a good one—except maybe on that day when I was eight years old.

Thirteen-year-old Rob thundered up our staircase doing his best impression of a monster. I beat him to my room, slammed and locked the door behind me, and cowered in the corner.

His ominous footsteps overwhelmed the truth I knew about him. He’s not a monster. He’s not a monster. The worst Rob would do if he broke through the door was tickle me, but fear had won the moment as I succumbed to my imagination.

Trust the Truth

Habakkuk’s fears weren’t rooted in imagination but in God’s word to him. Real danger would soon bust down Judah’s doors. If the Lord didn’t restrain Babylon, they’d all die at the end of a sword, spear, or whatever weapon they’d wield. Babylonian war plans did not include tickling. And so Habakkuk prayed and did the one thing that makes all the difference when we face a trial. He fixed his mind on truth.

Habakkuk looked upward beyond his fears and reminded himself of what he knew to be true about God’s unchanging nature.       Trusting the truth disarms our fears and puts them in their proper place—under God’s feet.

Truth Controls the Monsters

When my brother thundered up the stairs, I overreacted because I imagined he was a monster. Once I acknowledged the truth, the truth controlled the monster, which was my fear, not my brother. I stopped being afraid, and he went back downstairs.

Unlike me, God never overreacts or thinks irrationally. He doesn’t have mood swings—or moods. In fact, He doesn’t have reactions. He responds.

He knew everything we’d ever do before we were born. He responds to our actions out of His omniscience and wisdom. This should comfort us when trouble comes. God already knew it was coming. He set His purposes for it in eternity.

When Judah received the news about their monster, Babylon, terror was a reasonable response. Since Judah had refused to fear God, God would cause them to fear Babylon.

For hundreds of years, Judah had known God’s promises of blessings and curses. They can’t cry, “Wait, what?” They rejected the truth they knew and imagined they could keep living the lie that God would never hold them accountable to their sin.

But God and His promises never change. He’s Yahweh Elohim, the supreme God who made an everlasting covenant with Judah. He would forever be their God, but Judah needed judgment. At the appointed time, He’d restore them into His love and into their land. But first they needed Babylon.

God never allows trauma to touch us for no reason. But trauma is still terrifying. Truth puts our fears in their proper place, but we can only trust the truth we know.

            The more we know the truth through God’s Word, the more our fears will fall under God’s control. The God who disciplines His children but will never leave or forsake us.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

—Matthew 28:20

Transformational Truth:

            Truth puts our fears in their proper place, but we can only trust the truth we know.

Is there a particular Bible truth that changed your perspective and changed you? 

 

Jean Wilund is the author of Embracing Joy: An 8-Week Transformational Bible Study of Habakkuk, and Ease into the Bible: How to Wade into the Water of God’s Word with Confidence. She writes at JeanWilund.com and for Revive Our Hearts ministry to help lead women into a greater understanding of the Bible and a deeper relationship with God. She and her husband Larry live in Lexington, SC. When Jean isn’t writing, she’s gardening, playing with their grandtwins, or drinking coffee with friends while planning her next trip to see their two daughters in Hawaii.

Visit JeanWilund.com for additional study resources, including podcast episodes devoted to answering the most often asked questions about Embracing Joy.

Also check out Jean’s latest book, Ease into the Bible: How to Wade into the Water of God’s Word with Confidence. Whether you’re brand new to the Bible or own a collection, Ease into the Bible removes the intimidation factor many feel when they seek to read and understand the Bible. This short and engaging book helps us taste and see that the Lord is good—and His Word is a delight to the souls of His children.