Habakkuk
Habakkuk lived in a time when things were unraveling fast for God’s people. The Northern Kingdom, Israel, had been carried away into captivity, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah, was facing a drought. Then Habakkuk is informed that the Babylonians are coming to take Judah captive as well. … Habakkuk asked some questions that are still common today.
Habakkuk asks God why all the violence against His people is being tolerated and why God hasn’t done anything in response to it. (Habakkuk 1:1-3).
Habakkuk wants to know why God allows this unfair treatment to happen. Why is God blessing the wicked Babylonians and punishing His own people (Habakkuk 1:13)?
These are questions Habakkuk asks throughout this book. Reading the book of Habakkuk is like reading his prayer journal. It’s amazing to see this conversation between God and one of His prophets written down and even preserved for a few thousand years now. This is something God wants us to see and an example for us to follow.
Let’s look at three major points in Habakkuk:
Habakkuk’s Complaint (Habakkuk 1:2-4, 12-17). … Habakkuk asks question that plagues many people. It seems like the world is not run by an all-knowing, all-powerful, and good God. This is the age old problem of evil.
God’s Answer (Habakkuk 1:5-11; 2:2-20). … God says he has plans that Habakkuk wouldn’t believe.
Habakkuk’s Hope Leading to Joy (Habakkuk 3). … Habakkuk finds joy in the hope that God provides and makes a great statement of faith.
What do we learn from the hope of Habakkuk’s faith?
Hope can exist alongside grief, stress, and anxiety (Habakkuk 3:16). … Our hope is in God’s promises, not our circumstances.
Hope and Joy is a choice (Habakkuk 3:18). … Habakkuk chose to be joyful despite the terrible circumstances around him.
Hope comes from remembering and repeating (Habakkuk 3: 3-15). … Remembering what God has done for His people and repeating it can bring us hope for the future.
The heights of Hope come from the depths of Faith (Habakkuk 3:19).
Hope in the future leads to prayer in the present (Habakkuk 3:1-2). … Having hope makes us want to praise God and thank Him for what he has done and pray for what is to come.