Encouraged by Faithful Hope

Habakkuk 1:2-6, 12-13; 2:2-4, 18-20; 3:17-19a
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, July 25

Many find it hard to believe that God is in control of our world in light of worldwide and national events. The cowardly acts of 9/11, the brutality in Iraq, the disastrous mudslides/flooding in Haiti, the selfish greed of corporations like Enron and WorldCom, and the perverted abductions of children like Elizabeth Smart all make even the most dedicated believer wonder why God allows such things to happen. And some would even admit to a loss of hope in the power of God.

Habakkuk struggled with similar feelings shortly before the collapse of the Southern Kingdom. As a result of Jehoiakim’s wicked leadership (see Jer. 22:13-19) the law was ignored, the poor were exploited, the officials were bribed, and the courts were crooked. The loss of justice and lack of righteousness among the inhabitants of Judah prompted Habakkuk to cry out to God with questions about His perceived indifference and inconsistency to their national and spiritual situation.

The Hebrew language emphasizes Habakkuk’s burden for God to act. The word “cry” in verse 2 means “to scream, to cry with a loud voice, to cry with a disturbed heart.” As Habakkuk cried out to God and labored to understand why evil seemed to reign, he never turned away from God in unbelief. Warren Wiersby suggested that if you believe in God, you sometimes wonder why He allows certain things to happen.

But keep in mind that there’s a difference between doubt and unbelief. Like Habakkuk, the doubter doesn’t abandon God. But unbelief is a rebellion against God, a refusal to accept what He says and does. Unbelief is an act of the will, while doubt is born out of a troubled mind and broken heart.

Are you going through a time in your life where you doubt the power and goodness of God? Have you asked any of the following questions: “Why did this have to happen?, Why didn’t God intervene?, Why is God silent?”

I have prayed these types of questions with machine gun rapidity in my effort to understand God. For example, in my first pastorate, I questioned why a young man died in an oil field accident, leaving three small daughters and a young wife. On another occasion, I questioned why my college fraternity brother died from a brain tumor when I fasted and prayed for his healing. I have questioned why several of my friends have left thriving ministries and supportive families to pursue an adulterous relationship. Couldn’t God have intervened to prevent the demise of a ministry and the destruction of a family?

All of us have experienced circumstances beyond our comprehension and above our level of understanding. If that’s where you are now, you may be asking, “What do I do?” You should do the same thing that Habakkuk did, and the same thing that many of us do when we find ourselves in a situation we can’t reconcile with the goodness of God. We have to live by faith (2:4) regardless of the human or natural circumstances around us. We have to have an unshakable confidence in the wisdom of God.

Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, wrote of verse 4, “This text was to me the true gate of Paradise.” These words will also be the “gate of Paradise” for those that seek to apply them to their lives. There is a certain amount of peace that comes from knowing that we’ll never understand all the ways of God. Isaiah wrote, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Is. 55:8).

In seeking to live by faith, we need to remember that God is our Creator and we are the “created.” I sense God saying in these words, “But [I am] in [my] holy temple; let all the earth be silent before [me]” (vs. 20) that He wants us to embrace the idea that He is on His throne and has everything under control. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and subject to no man. In fact, the word “silent” in the original language is a strong command that means “hush!” or “be quiet!”

One example of trusting God in the midst of incomprehensible circumstances is the death of David Bloom.

Bloom was a reporter for NBC covering Operation Iraqi Freedom when he suddenly collapsed and died from a pulmonary embolism. His soul was immediately transported into the presence of Jesus as a result of a decision he made two years earlier while reading Chuck Colson’s book, Born Again. Colson shared the following comments on Bloom’s death: “Why, God, did you let this happen? Finally we had an evangelical Christian in a strategic position within a major TV network! He was young and popular and extremely successful. If only You had saved his life!” It wasn’t until Colson attended Bloom’s memorial service did he realize that God received glory through the numerous e-mails read at the service. The e-mails were from David to his wife while he worked in Iraq. Each e-mail proclaimed the glory of God and the peace that Bloom had found after accepting Christ.

The following words, though written by David Bloom, clearly communicates Habakkuk’s final understanding about God, and should serve as good advice for us: God takes you to the depths of your being, until you’re at rock bottom, and then, if you turn to Him with utter and blind faith and resolve in your heart and mind to walk only with Him and towards Him, picks you up with your bootstraps and leads you home.