1The revelation which Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2Yahweh, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save? 3Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up. 4Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
5“Look among the nations, watch, and wonder marvelously; for I am working a work in your days which you will not believe though it is told you. 6For, behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who march through the width of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7They are feared and dreaded. Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour. 9All of them come for violence. Their hordes face forward. They gather prisoners like sand. 10Yes, they scoff at kings, and princes are a derision to them. They laugh at every stronghold, for they build up an earthen ramp and take it. 11Then they sweep by like the wind and go on. They are indeed guilty, whose strength is their god.”
A sudden loss of a loved one. Our hopes and dreams get crushed by disappointment or rejection. Our prayers go ‘unanswered’. Children dying before they get a chance to live. Fighting in the streets. Hatred running rampant, seemingly unstoppable. Christians tortured and martyred for their faith. What the heck Lord? If you are good what’s the script? If you say you want good things for your children, why do such bad things happen? Where is the justice?
When devastating circumstances rock our lives, even the most faithful among us can be shaken with doubt. Where is God? Why is He allowing this? Is He really good? Does He even exist? Thankfully God is not scared of our questions, He has broad shoulders and He is not taken aback by our doubts and fears.
Faced by all that was happening around him the prophet Habakkuk had his own doubts and some big questions for God. In Habakkuk 1:1-4, he cites that he is surrounded by violence, injustice, wrongdoing, destruction, strife and conflict. So he cries out to God, “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2).
The Lord doesn’t get annoyed at him or rebuke him for asking. He answers, not to justify himself, but to give Habakkuk hope. Indeed God explains to Habakkuk that not only has He not forgotten his people, He has a plan so amazing that the prophet wouldn’t even believe it if he heard it! (Habakkuk 1:5).
When devastating and confusing circumstances cause us to question God, we can be absolutely certain He cares, He has a plan, and He is working it all together for the good of those who love Him, just like Paul explains in Romans 8:28. We may not understand because we only see part of the story, but God sees the big picture and has a plan that’s so much greater than anything we could imagine. God is working on your behalf. He’s active in your life and in our world in ways that if He told us, we would not even believe!
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you that you are in control. Even when I don’t feel it or doubt that you have a plan. Help me in this situation.. (tell him what concerns you)... Thank you that your love for me and your character haven’t changed, so help me to trust you and the wonderful plan you have for my life, my family, my church. In Jesus’ name. Amen.