God, Why Don’t You Answer?
"O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you 'Violence!' and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted." (Habakkuk 1:2-4, English Standard Version)
We are going to be beginning a look at
the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk (yes, that's a real name, I didn't just randomly
hit keys on the keyboard). Let me give you some background regarding the
book. Habakkuk was a prophet to the nation of
There is scarcely a person alive who hasn't uttered these words, "Why does God allow all these bad things to happen?" or "Where was God when <blank> happened?" This isn't a new thing. The prophet Habakkuk asked the very same questions. Think of all the things that are happening right now in 2004: Mass murder masquerading as "reproductive choice;" sexual perversity masquerading as "alternative life styles;" marriages breaking down and families being destroyed by no-fault divorce; gross immorality masquerading as "entertainment." That's not to mention all the violence and injustice perpetrated across the world.
The obvious questions in all of this are: "Where is God?" "Why is He allowing these things to happen?" "Why doesn't God do something about this?" Habakkuk also witnessed the complete social and moral breakdown of his generation. Listen to his heart: "O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you 'Violence!' and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong?" The Prophet basically asks God two questions in this passage: 1) "Why do You not answer me when I cry out to You?" and 2) "Why are You allowing these things to happen?"
Now it's easy to sit here detached and read this, but realize that Habakkuk was a real person with real concerns. His heart was torn apart by the rampant evil and injustice being carried out before his eyes. Notice the despair in his voice as he closes this passage: "So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted." Habakkuk resigned himself to the fact that things weren't going to get better. He must have thought that God had abandoned His covenant people in disgust and frustration.
Application Time: OK, how do we apply this to our lives? As noted above, we live in a time which is eerily similar to Habakkuk's time. Doesn't it seem that the "law is paralyzed," and that "justice never goes forth?" Doesn't it seem like sometimes the "wicked surround the righteous?" It does to me! The first application point is this: It's OK to vent to God. It's OK to honestly express our fears and concerns to God. God wants us to bear our souls to Him in prayer. There are some who, being brought up too much on the wrath and holiness of God, might think Habakkuk was way out of line to talk to God like that. But God promises to respond to those who honestly seek Him ("You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart" Jeremiah 29:13). The key in all this is seeking with all your heart. It shouldn't be hard to separate the honest seeker with the skeptic. The skeptic snidely asks, "Where's God in all this?" knowing full well that he doesn't expect an answer. The honest seeker asks the same question based on a faith in God as good, loving, and true.
The second application point is this: We do know where God is in all of this! God is where He has always been: In absolute control of everything! The prophet Isaiah felt forlorn when King Uzziah died. Isaiah lamented and wondered what was going to happen next. Well, what did happen next? Isaiah got a glimpse of where God is: "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1). When the world seemed to be falling apart for Isaiah, God was sitting on His throne. The idea being that God had not abdicated His responsibility; everything was going exactly according to plan!
Bottom Line: We are finite beings with finite understandings. It is folly for us to think we should be privy to everything that is going on in God's grand design. As we will find out next time, God had a plan for Habakkuk's situation, and it was something that even Habakkuk wouldn't believe. The point is this: God is always, always, always working; even when we can't see it! If things seem to be going down the proverbial toilet, have faith; God has a purpose behind it!