Read:
Habakkuk 1:1-11
Habakkuk is
a unique book in that it is a dialogue between the prophet and God. This prophet insisted on getting answers from
God! In fact Habakkuk actually argued
with God over His ways in the first two chapters. Their dialogue shows how the godly can
struggle to comprehend the ways of God.
The first chapter focuses on the question – why does evil go
unpunished? Habakkuk noticed that the
innocent suffered and the guilty seemed to go free. What is God doing in the world? Habakkuk was one of the good guys who feared
God and obeyed Him but it was getting him nowhere. God answered Habakkuk and told him that He
was raising up a foreign nation, Babylon, to bring judgment. This nation was so evil and powerful that
nothing would be able to stop them. We’ll
see tomorrow how this answer did not satisfy the prophet. God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way
we would expect. Often we pray with an
idea of how we would like Him to answer and when He responds differently we can
become frustrated. This book encourages
us to trust in God’s ways even when we don’t understand them.
Prayer and Journaling
1. What
were some of the injustices that enraged Habakkuk? Do you ever feel that God doesn’t care about
the injustices in your life or in the lives of your friends and family members?
2. God
answered Habakkuk’s prayer for justice but not in the way the prophet would
have expected. Have you ever questioned
what God is doing in your life? Do God’s
ways sometimes not make sense to you?
3. Thank
God for being in control of your circumstances even when you don’t
understand. Pray for a heart that is
unoffended by God and His ways, even when you can’t understand them.
