Habakkuk: Strength in Questioning

From Before The Throne by Crickett Keeth

The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received. How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

Habakkuk 1:1‭-‬4 NIV

Do you find yourself in circumstances where you don’t understand what God is doing? You may be frustrated with Him because you feel He’s not doing anything, or He’s silent in a hard situation. You may see God working, but not in the way you had envisioned. How do you respond to God in those times?

The book of Habakkuk is a dialogue between Habakkuk and God when Judah was disobedient, and he felt like God was tolerating their sin and not dealing with it. Habakkuk teaches us how to approach God before the throne in prayer in those times we struggle to understand why.

We’ve all asked God questions at times. God, why? How long is this going to go on? Where are You in this? Why are You silent? One of the things I love about Habakkuk is that he was real with his feelings. He didn’t understand what God was doing, and he wanted to know why. It’s okay to ask questions and be honest about our feelings, but let those questions lead us to a place of trust.

I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3:16‭-‬19

Habakkuk poured out his emotions in his dialogue with God and then listened to God’s response. Even though God’s answer wasn’t what Habakkuk had expected and didn’t make sense to him, he expressed his trust in God through praise. Chapter 3 is his prayer after God revealed to him how He would deal with Judah’s sin. God would send the Chaldeans to take Judah into exile, but Habakkuk didn’t moan and groan about God’s answer; he turned to praise.

A Time of Reflection

What questions are you asking God today?

A Time of Prayer

Be honest with God in prayer, as Habakkuk was. Tell Him what you’re feeling and thinking, but end with praise and expressing your trust in God. Use the end of Habakkuk’s prayer in Habakkuk 3:16–19 to guide you in prayer, personalizing it to what is going on in your life today.

Lord, there have been many times I’ve asked You why and what You are doing. I don’t always understand, but I know I can trust You.