Habakkuk—Where In The World Are You, Lord?

Chapter 1:2-4 “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen? ‘Violence is everywhere!’ I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all the misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts.The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.”

     I wonder how many of us have felt this same way. We are going through something hard, or we’re watching someone we love go through tough things, we don’t understand it, and we agonize. We wonder where God is in it and why He doesn’t make things “right”. We can’t perceive Him with any sense and it feels like He has left the building. I’ve been there.

     The Lord replies in chapter 1:5 “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.”

     The Lord goes on to say that He is raising up the Babylonians, who are noted for being cruel, their own strength being their god, to bring judgement against Judah. This doesn’t make any sense to Habakkuk and he complains to the Lord, surely you do not plan to wipe us out? Will you let them get away with this forever?

     Have you ever felt like someone was just getting away with something? That God is just turning a blind eye? Then maybe you see God move in a way that doesn’t seem fair? Habakkuk felt the same way. He saw the evil, asked God where He was, God told him judgement was on the way. Then Habakkuk was bothered by the way of judgement, the Babylonians who were even more evil than the Judeans.

     Ha. I’ve been there before. In the place where God answers and it makes no sense. In fact His answer seems to lead to a place WORSE than what’s already happening. Times where it’s hard to believe ANYTHING good can come of this. Habakkuk asks some tough questions, trying to understand, and so do we when hard things come.

     Here’s where we find a ditch sometimes. We ask God, He doesn’t answer the way we want Him to and we retreat, we isolate, we get mad at God, and sometimes…we even run away from Him. I have done all of these things in my hurt and desperation.

     Habakkuk chooses a different way. In chapter 2:1, he says, “I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how He will answer my complaint.” I love this picture!

      Did you know, according to Blue Letter Bible Online, the name Habakkuk is derived from the Hebrew verb embrace? It also states,“His name probably means, ‘He Who Embraces’ or ‘He Who Clings.’

     Chapter 3 is a prayer proclaiming who God is and all the attributes of God. I love that about Habakkuk. He sees things he doesn’t understand, he is grieved by them, he asks God about it, waits for His response of truth, then in the midst of not understanding, he holds on to who God is.

     In my mind, I’m picturing those bumper pads at the bowling alley for the “little kids”. Ha. I think we are like that bowling ball. Life throws us down the lane, we wobble to the right and to the left and God is the bumper pad. If we let Him, He gently guides us back to the middle…where He is….where Truth is. He brings us to a place where we are able to trust that His ways are good. We may not understand, but His ways ARE good.