Hope in Uncertainty
Hope in Uncertainty
Have you wondered… why does a good God allow bad things to happen, especially to ‘good’ people?
I’m sure we’ve all asked this question because we all have seen evil in the world and experienced circumstances that we didn’t and don’t understand. I’ve had many kids ask me this question during my experience as a Christian camp counselor. And I’ve even wondered this question before.
For instance, I asked it when I was 15 after I lost a friend (who was more like a cousin to me) to cancer—she was only 16 years old.
This question, which is so difficult to answer, has been asked by people for centuries.
In fact, the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk asked a very similar question of God when the people of Judah were facing oppression and foreign invasion.
To be frank, Habakkuk never received a clear-cut answer to his question. Yet, he did receive hope in the midst of his questioning.
Habakkuk learned how to praise and trust God even when it didn’t make any sense.
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, / nor fruit be on the vines, / the produce of the olive fail / and the fields yield no food, / the flock be cut off from the fold / and there be no herd in the stalls, / yet I will rejoice in the Lord; / I will take joy in the God of my salvation. / GOD, the Lord, is my strength; / he makes my feet like the deer’s; / he makes me tread on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19, ESV, emphasis added)
Now, you might be wondering, who in the world is Habakkuk?
Habakkuk was a prophet in the Old Testament (before the time of Jesus’ time in Earth). He lived in the land of Judah—the southern kingdom of Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital. After the death of King Solomon, the son of King David, the kingdom was divided into two: Israel and Judah.
Biblical scholars are not quite sure at what time Habakkuk lived, but they believe that he may have lived around the time of King Josiah’s reign of Judah which ended in 609 B.C—you can find his story in 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35 (Wegner 1719).
Now, you might be thinking that was a long, long time ago. Why do I even care about a prophet and a king and a divided kingdom?
Since the book of Habakkuk falls under the biblical genre of prophecy, it is important to know its context in order to fully understand its meaning. Not only does it help to understand who Habakkuk was, it also is vital to know what was happening in Judah during the time Habakkuk wrote his prophecy.
Following King Josiah’s reign, Judah was taken over by the Assyrians who ruled them oppressively for over 100 years. This political turmoil is what sets up the short book of Habakkuk which is found towards the end of the Old Testament.
Throughout the book of Habakkuk, the prophet is complaining to God about the trials the people of Judah are experiencing at the hand of the Assyrians and asks God…why are You not intervening?
Does this question sound familiar? How many times have you asked God that question, or heard others ask it?
Let’s take a look at God’s response to Habakkuk’s questions. His answer is astounding!
In Habakkuk 1:5 (ESV), the Lord God says:
“Look among the nations, and see; / wonder and be astounded. / For I am doing a work in your days / that you would not believe if told.”
In fact, God tells Habakkuk in the following verse that He is sending the Babylonians/Chaldeans to defeat the Assyrians—the nation oppressing God’s chosen people in Judah!
God tells Habakkuk that He is working behind the scenes. He isn’t simply watching the evil unfold. He’s acting, even if it isn’t what Habakkuk or the people of Judah expect.
“Although Habakkuk may not fully understand, he has learned to rely totally on the wisdom and justice of God to bring about the proper resolution in ways he could never have imagined.” - Paul D. Wegner, Ph.D (ESV Study Bible)
It is through this realization, after arguing back and forth with God for a couple of chapters, that Habakkuk’s heart was changed. He learned that the Lord can be trusted and is worthy of his praise.
Habakkuk learned that God was the only thing he ever truly needed to survive—which is why He could be trusted and praised no matter what.
In Habakkuk 3:17, the prophet listed resources that where essential for survival in Judah during his day: fig trees and fruit vines provided food, olives provided oil, fields provided crops for the livestock and for the people, and herds were needed to help them travel and farm. These crops and livestock were the main sources of sustenance for the people (Baker 76).
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, / nor fruit be on the vines, / the produce of the olive fail / and the fields yield no food, / the flock be cut off from the fold / and there be no herd in the stalls…” (Habakkuk 3:17, ESV)
So what the prophet Habakkuk is saying here is that he will be okay if these essential resources fail. Today, that would be like if all the stores ran out of stock and permanently shut down (which we nearly experienced during the pandemic…and yet God still provided for us during that dark time!).
Habakkuk knows that he will be okay because his “existence is not based on [those resources], but upon their source, Yahweh”—on the Lord God (Baker 76).
We can see the faith Habakkuk has in the Lord God—in Yahweh—in verse 18 where he says, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; / I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (ESV, emphasis added).
“[Habakkuk’s] rejoicing is grounded in, and springs from, the relationship which God has with him and his people. Stripped of all else, he can never be deprived of his covenant God." - W.D. Baker
Though Habakkuk questioned God at the beginning of his book, by the end he came to realize that God—in all His wisdom and might—knows better than any human. The Lord God is in control and that gave Habakkuk enough reason to trust in and praise the Lord.
This is a good example of what Jesus’ meant in Matthew 18 when He instructed His followers that they could not enter the kingdom of heaven unless they had faith like a child.
Habakkuk 3:19 shows us what that kind of faith looks like practically when it says, “GOD, the Lord, is my strength; / he makes my feet like the deer’s; / he makes me tread on my high places” (ESV).
Habakkuk’s strength comes from God alone. In the same way that God gave a deer the ability to walk in amongst rocky cliffs and treacherous terrain, God has given his people the ability to trust in Him no matter what.
“Habakkuk can have sure-footed confidence in God and can live on the heights even amid extreme circumstances." - Paul D. Wegner, Ph.D (ESV Study Bible)
Habakkuk learned that he could trust God and praise Him even when the world is seemingly falling apart around him. He knew this because he learned that God is working even when he couldn’t see it.
And the same thing goes for us today. Things may be falling apart in your life…
…Even so, God is still at work…
…He can still be trusted…
…And He is still worthy of our praise.
As the chorus of the song “Praise You in this Storm” by Casting Crowns states,
“And I'll praise You in this storm / And I will lift my hands / For You are who You are / No matter where I am / And every tear I've cried / You hold in Your hand / You never left my side / And though my heart is torn / I will praise You in this storm.”
And as the chorus of the song “Hallelujah Anyway” by Rend Collective states,
“Even if my daylight never dawns / Even if my breakthrough never comes / Even if I'll fight to bring You praise / Even if my dreams fall to the ground / Even if I'm lost, I know I'm found / Even if my heart will somehow say / Hallelujah anyway.”
The lesson that we can take from the prophet Habakkuk is this: We can still rejoice in the Lord no matter our circumstance because He is at work even when we cannot see it and He graciously gives us the strength to praise Him in the meantime.
This blog post is adapted from a speech I gave my Speaking the Faith class in the Spring 2022.
Sources
Baker, W. D. (1988). Nahum, Habakkuk, & Zephaniah: An Introduction & Commentary. Intervarsity Press.
Wegner, P.D. Habakkuk. English Standard Version Study Bible (2008). Crossway Publishing.
Map of Israel and Judah. (2022). https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/tools/map-gallery/i/map-israel-and-judah.