The Book of Habakkuk

All the prophet Habakkuk sees around him is destruction, violence, strife, and contention. The righteous is surrounded by the wicked. It leads Habakkuk to ask questions (1:2-4): “What is going on here? God, how long are you going to continue to let this go on? Where are you?” To Habakkuk, it feels like God is not listening. Does God know what’s going on? And if He does, does He even care? Is He indifferent? As we continue reading in the book of Habakkuk, we realize that God does care. He is not indifferent. He sees all that goes on. He has a plan. And He sees the big picture.

Here are the four takeaways from Habakkuk 1:

It is not wrong to ask God questions: God answered Habakkuk’s questions. In fact, God encouraged Habakkuk to learn from the situation.

Be honest with God: It’s OK to be straight-up with God. It’s OK to ask God what is going on. It’s OK to go to God in prayer. It’s OK to tell God that you do not understand. But do not turn away from God.

God will act: God’s timeframe is not our timeframe. God will act when the time is right, not when we think it’s the right time to act.

God is still in control: Even though to Habakkuk it felt like God wasn’t in control, God assures him that He was, and that He would help.

And, here are two more takeaways from Habakkuk 2-3:

Be silent (2:20): We’ve established that it is OK to ask God questions. But there also comes a time when we need to be silent. Let God be God. Let us be the creation, not the Creator. We must remember that He is the Potter, and we are the clay (Is. 64:8).

Trust God (2:4, 3:16-19): God’s children were staring down judgment. Habakkuk questioned God. The righteous were living among the wicked. Yet, what does Habakkuk say? “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (3:18). This is a powerful statement by Habakkuk.

Do you have this kind of faith?

— By Steven Matthews