Another great painting by Gustave Dore, French artist (1832-1883).
This one is Habakkuk in his frustrations before God.
Recently I have been studying the minor prophets for major lessons in them. Today, in the light of the Virginia Tech Massacre and tragedies such as these that we are often confronted with, I felt led to put up this post from my study in the book of Habakkuk.
Tragedy is hard to understand, hard to explain, and hard on faith. And some people lay the blame for all that happens at the feet of God and become bitter and cynical toward him. They ask for explanation, but get silence. They ask for understanding, and are baffled.
Life, indeed, is a mystery. Much of what happens in life is beyond us. We do not understand why some people have cancer; why some people are involved in tragic accidents; why some people suffer premature heart attacks; why some people live in constant pain, why the innocent should be killed by a college student with deep-seated emotional problems and why others just live trouble free lives. And even if it were explained to us, we probably wouldn't be satisfied with it. We long for sensibility. We seek explanation. We are desperate for reason.
We need to understand one fundamental truth that is inherent throughout all of scripture: God never explains himself. He rarely gives reasons. The events that unfold in our world seldom make sense. We, therefore, are confronted with the basic tenant of Christianity: The righteous live by faith.
1. An Expression of Faith (1:2-3, 2:4, 3:17-19)
Perhaps the greatest expression of undaunted faith ever penned came from the Old Testament spokesman, Habakkuk. Most prophets spoke to the people for God. Habakkuk spoke to God for the people. He lived in times that were hard on faith. He saw the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering. He asked God the two questions we often ask: “Why?” and “How long?” Why are these things happening? How long will it be before they are rectified?
God revealed to Habakkuk that the Babylonians, the epitome of everything Habakkuk detested, would be used as an instrument of judgment on the Hebrew people. Habakkuk did not understand. He could not explain it. For a time, evil would win over righteousness and bad things would happen to good people. God’s hand would not move; his face would not be seen. Yet throughout this time of punishment, this illogical and unexplainable time, God reminded Habakkuk of correct living, “The righteous will live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).
Habakkuk realized that though he did not understand the ways of God and did not agree with the timing of God, still he could not doubt the wisdom, the love, or the reliability of God. Then Habakkuk wrote his great affirmation of faith: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will triumph in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!” (Hab. 3:17-19).
Habakkuk affirmed that even if everything he relied on failed, if everything that gave stability to his life crumbled, still he’d trust the Lord.
If Habakkuk were speaking today, he would say, “Though the scaffold falls, the stock market crashes, the company goes bankrupt, and the economy heads south, if everything I rely on falters—still I will trust in the Lord. My confidence in God will not waiver.”
2. The Importance of Faith
Corrie ten Boom knew something about tragedy and suffering. She lived with a courageous faith. Upon emerging from a Nazi concentration camp she said, "There is no pit so deep that God isn't deeper still." She picked an apt analogy because pain and tragedy is a pit. For some, it appears bottomless. Many experience a falling, disorientation, a terror, as they grab for walls that are out of reach. They see only blackness, and hear only echoes of the life they used to know. And for many, they claim that God is not present. But Corrie ten Boom, like Habakkuk, reminds us that even in the pits of tragedy, God is still there. He is present. Yes, pain is real. But God, indeed, is real, too. That's where faith comes in.
Faith reminds us that there can be a design for our lives that presently we may not fully grasp, but in time, we will come to trust in the love of God. In the interval of time between illogic and logic, between misunderstanding and understanding, between questions and answers, we must believe in God.
3. What Faith Believes
A. Faith believes that God is too wise to make a mistake.
We are always wiser after the event. But while the crisis is occurring, we are unaware of why we are going through a tragedy. Only after we reflect upon it, does it strike us that God was in it all along. For that reason, we trust in the ways of God, believing that he is too wise to make a mistake.
B. Faith believes that God is too kind to be cruel.
God is never malicious in his dealing with us. Whatever he does, he does for our good.
The apostle Paul spoke of the kindness of God and his amazing grace when he wrote, "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers" (Rom. 8:28-29).
These verses are as important for what they do not say as they are for what they say: They do not say that everything that happens is good—it isn’t. They do not say that God causes everything that happens—he doesn't. They do not say that everything will turn out okay for everyone—it won't.
What they do say is: God is at work in the world, especially in the lives of his children. His glorious purpose is to make us like his son, Jesus Christ. And to that good end, God can and does use all things—the good and the bad, that which he causes and that which he only permits. It assures us that no experience has to be a total waste. If we give it to God, he will take that experience and bring something good out of it.
C. Faith believes that God always knows best and does best in his time.
When we try to impose our timetable on God, we get into trouble. There are times of trials, when we want to short circuit the maturation process. We want to "bug out" or "beg off", while God wants to prepare us for a great work or a new phase of life. Like the butterfly still within a coccoon, it is only in struggles that we obtain strength.
D. Faith believes that God is in control, and therefore, we can rest easily, if we so choose.
George Buttrick has said, "The same sun that hardens the clay melts the wax." It is our choice whether we will let the inevitable suffering and misfortune of life harden or soften us. We can choose to be hopeful or hopeless. We can decide whether we will be an optimist or a pessimist. It all depends on how we look at it, and we determine in which direction we look.
E. Faith believes that when we cannot trace the hand of God, we must trust the heart of God.
Habakkuk presented a great affirmation of faith by saying, "Yahweh my Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!" (Hab. 3:19). The deer Habakkuk is referring too was a mountain climbing deer known for its sure and steady feet. On the most treacherous terrain, it never fell. This is the Lord's promise to us. He will keep us on our feet as we travel the treacherous paths of life. He may not get us out of the troubles, but he promises to get us through.
4. Where Is Your Faith?
Maybe your life is so dark that you can’t see God’s face. The darkness of the night, the fierceness of the storm, the frailness of your faith, causes you to wonder if God is there, to wonder if God cares.
God is here for you. He will never leave you. Never. He cares too much for you. Even if the night is dark and the storm is raging, know that God is here. Even when you can’t see the hand of God, you can trust the heart of God.
Will you trust him? Even if you don’t understand why, will you trust him? Trust him because you know that he knows why. Even if you wonder how long, will you trust him? Trust him because he knows the time and the length of suffering. Trust him without explanation, logic and reasoning. Trust him because he is God.
