Habakkuk Sermon Series
Part 1
Sermon follow-up 7/21/25
Introduction
Have you ever looked at the world around you and wondered why God allows injustice to continue? Do you sometimes feel like your prayers for help go unanswered? If so, you're not alone. The ancient prophet Habakkuk felt the same way, and his honest dialogue with God provides a powerful model for how we can bring our deepest questions to the Lord.
Who Was Habakkuk and Why Does His Message Matter Today?
Habakkuk was a prophet who lived during a time of spiritual and moral decline in Judah. He had witnessed a brief period of revival under King Josiah, only to see his nation slide back into corruption and injustice after Josiah's death. The situation had become so bad that Habakkuk couldn't stay silent anymore.
What makes the book of Habakkuk unique is that instead of simply delivering God's message to the people, we get to witness the prophet's personal conversation with God. We see his raw questions, his struggles, and ultimately his journey toward deeper trust.
Is God Afraid of Our Hard Questions?
Habakkuk begins with a desperate cry: "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?" (Habakkuk 1:2-3)
These aren't polite, sanitized questions. They're the anguished cries of someone who can't reconcile what he sees with what he believes about God. And here's the beautiful thing: God isn't offended by these questions. He welcomes them.
Sometimes we feel that expressing doubt or questioning God's ways shows a lack of faith. We try to hide our questions, thinking God will be disappointed in us. But that's like a toddler covering their eyes during hide-and-seek, believing that if they can't see you, you can't see them. God already knows the questions in our hearts. Bringing them honestly before Him is an act of faith, not doubt.
When God's Answer Isn't What We Expected
God's response to Habakkuk is startling: "Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told" (Habakkuk 1:5).
Great! God is going to act! But then comes the shocking part: "I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own" (Habakkuk 1:6).
Wait, what? God's solution to Judah's injustice is to bring in the Babylonians—a nation known for their brutality and violence? This wasn't the answer Habakkuk was hoping for. He wanted God to fix the injustice in Judah, not bring in an even more unjust nation to conquer them!
Why Does God Sometimes Use Difficult Circumstances?
God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sometimes the great things God is doing don't look great on the surface. The Babylonian conquest would be devastating for Judah, yet God would use even this terrible event to accomplish His purposes and ultimately bring His people back to Him.
Think about the crucifixion of Jesus. To the disciples watching their teacher die on a cross, it looked like the end of everything they had hoped for. How could anything good come from such injustice and suffering? Yet that apparent defeat became the greatest victory in history.
How Should We Respond When Life Doesn't Make Sense?
Habakkuk gives us a model in his response: "Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die" (Habakkuk 1:12). Even when he doesn't understand God's ways, he clings to what he knows to be true about God's character.
When circumstances don't make sense, we can:
Life Application
This week, I challenge you to identify one area in your life where things don't make sense—where you're struggling to understand what God is doing. Instead of pushing those questions aside, bring them honestly before God. Write them down in a journal, speak them aloud in prayer, or share them with a trusted friend.
Then, spend time meditating on God's character. What do you know to be true about Him, regardless of your circumstances? How has He proven faithful in the past?
Ask yourself:
Remember, one day all our questions will be answered. As Revelation 19 describes, Jesus will return to make everything right, trampling injustice under His feet. Until that day, we can trust that He is doing "something in our days that we would not believe, even if we were told."
Introduction
Have you ever looked at the world around you and wondered why God allows injustice to continue? Do you sometimes feel like your prayers for help go unanswered? If so, you're not alone. The ancient prophet Habakkuk felt the same way, and his honest dialogue with God provides a powerful model for how we can bring our deepest questions to the Lord.
Who Was Habakkuk and Why Does His Message Matter Today?
Habakkuk was a prophet who lived during a time of spiritual and moral decline in Judah. He had witnessed a brief period of revival under King Josiah, only to see his nation slide back into corruption and injustice after Josiah's death. The situation had become so bad that Habakkuk couldn't stay silent anymore.
What makes the book of Habakkuk unique is that instead of simply delivering God's message to the people, we get to witness the prophet's personal conversation with God. We see his raw questions, his struggles, and ultimately his journey toward deeper trust.
Is God Afraid of Our Hard Questions?
Habakkuk begins with a desperate cry: "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?" (Habakkuk 1:2-3)
These aren't polite, sanitized questions. They're the anguished cries of someone who can't reconcile what he sees with what he believes about God. And here's the beautiful thing: God isn't offended by these questions. He welcomes them.
Sometimes we feel that expressing doubt or questioning God's ways shows a lack of faith. We try to hide our questions, thinking God will be disappointed in us. But that's like a toddler covering their eyes during hide-and-seek, believing that if they can't see you, you can't see them. God already knows the questions in our hearts. Bringing them honestly before Him is an act of faith, not doubt.
When God's Answer Isn't What We Expected
God's response to Habakkuk is startling: "Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told" (Habakkuk 1:5).
Great! God is going to act! But then comes the shocking part: "I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own" (Habakkuk 1:6).
Wait, what? God's solution to Judah's injustice is to bring in the Babylonians—a nation known for their brutality and violence? This wasn't the answer Habakkuk was hoping for. He wanted God to fix the injustice in Judah, not bring in an even more unjust nation to conquer them!
Why Does God Sometimes Use Difficult Circumstances?
God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sometimes the great things God is doing don't look great on the surface. The Babylonian conquest would be devastating for Judah, yet God would use even this terrible event to accomplish His purposes and ultimately bring His people back to Him.
Think about the crucifixion of Jesus. To the disciples watching their teacher die on a cross, it looked like the end of everything they had hoped for. How could anything good come from such injustice and suffering? Yet that apparent defeat became the greatest victory in history.
How Should We Respond When Life Doesn't Make Sense?
Habakkuk gives us a model in his response: "Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die" (Habakkuk 1:12). Even when he doesn't understand God's ways, he clings to what he knows to be true about God's character.
When circumstances don't make sense, we can:
- Bring our honest questions to God
- Listen for His response in His Word
- Trust His character even when we don't understand His methods
- Remember that He sees the complete picture when we only see a fragment
Life Application
This week, I challenge you to identify one area in your life where things don't make sense—where you're struggling to understand what God is doing. Instead of pushing those questions aside, bring them honestly before God. Write them down in a journal, speak them aloud in prayer, or share them with a trusted friend.
Then, spend time meditating on God's character. What do you know to be true about Him, regardless of your circumstances? How has He proven faithful in the past?
Ask yourself:
- What questions have I been afraid to bring to God?
- How might God be working in ways I can't yet see?
- What truth about God's character can I cling to when I don't understand His methods?
Remember, one day all our questions will be answered. As Revelation 19 describes, Jesus will return to make everything right, trampling injustice under His feet. Until that day, we can trust that He is doing "something in our days that we would not believe, even if we were told."
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