The Just Live By Faith
Month 6: Hard Questions · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: Habakkuk 2:4 & Romans 1:17
4 Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright — but the righteous will live by faith — — Habakkuk 2:4
17 For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” — Romans 1:17
Memory Verse
“Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!”— Habakkuk 3:17-18 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 2 Samuel 13-15
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Hard chapters in David's family — even kings face deep trouble.)The Heart of It
Today we gather the whole week into one bright thread. Right in the middle of all his hard questions, God gave Habakkuk a sentence so important that the New Testament quotes it three times. "The just shall live by his faith" (). Paul picks it up in to explain the gospel itself. Here's the big idea. When life is confusing and you don't have every answer, you don't have to figure everything out before you trust God. You live by faith. Faith isn't pretending you understand. It's holding on to the God you do know, even when there's a lot you don't. This very verse later helped a man named Martin Luther. He came to understand that we're made right with God not by being good enough, but by trusting Jesus. One little line from Habakkuk has been changing lives for thousands of years.
So look back over our week together. Habakkuk asked "how long?" and God listened (Day 158). He learned to rejoice even in an empty field (Day 159). He saw that God waits on purpose, out of mercy (Day 160). He trusted God while his bones trembled (Day 161). He discovered joy is the Spirit's gift (Day 162). And he saw that God's comfort is meant to flow on to others (Day 163). And it all rests on this foundation. The just shall live by faith. Faith is offered to everyone. Everyone gets to choose to take God's hand. We don't earn it, and we're never forced. Jesus knocks, and we open the door. That's how a family stands strong through every hard question. Not with all the answers, but with all our trust in the God who has them.
Around the Table
"Live by faith" means holding God's hand even when we can't see the whole path. We trust Him because He's good!
Let's do it: Play "trust walk." Close your eyes and let a grown-up gently lead you a few steps. That's a little picture of living by faith.
"The just shall live by faith" means we trust God even when we don't have all the answers. Faith is a choice we get to make.
Let's talk: Which day from this week stuck with you most? Why? Let's each share one "hard question" and one thing we learned.
This one line from Habakkuk anchors the whole gospel. We're made right with God through faith, not by performing. Faith is truly offered to all, and it's truly chosen, never forced.
Let's go deeper: How is "living by faith" different from "having all the answers"? Why is that good news when life is full of hard questions?
💬 Conversation Starter
Of all the hard questions we explored this week, which one would you most want a good answer for? Let's pray about it together right now.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Sometimes people say, "You can't be a thinking person and have faith." Kindly reply that faith isn't believing without reasons. It's trusting the God we have good reasons to know, even where mysteries remain. Habakkuk shows that faith and honest questions belong together. We offer our reasons "with gentleness and respect" ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
As you close this week, consider what "the just shall live by faith" guards against on both sides. It rules out a faith built on earning God's favor by performance. Your kids can't be good enough, and neither can you. We receive righteousness as a gift through trust. But it also rules out a faith that demands every answer before it will move. God invites a real response, freely given and never coerced. He woos us; He doesn't override the will. Your role this week wasn't to hand your children airtight answers to suffering. It was to model a man who keeps trusting and keeps choosing God in the dark. That lived faith, more than any argument, is what they'll carry. Make sure they see you still choosing to open the door He keeps knocking on.
Draws on: Frank Turek, Stealing from God; Robert Picirilli, Grace, Faith, Free Will (a Wesleyan-Arminian view).
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You for walking with us. We don't have every answer, but we have You, and that is enough. Teach our family to live by faith. Help us trust Your goodness in the light and in the dark. We choose You again today. In Jesus' name, amen."
I don't need every answer to trust God. The just shall live by faith.