Habakkuk 1
Today's Passage: Habakkuk 1
The book of Habakkuk reads as a conversation between God and the prophet Habakkuk. The book predicts the Babylonian invasion of Judah and shows Habakkuk wrestling with God about why he would allow such a thing to happen.
This is what the ESV Study Bible writes about this book:
“By the end of the book, Habakkuk is a changed person—he has learned to wait and trust in God, who works out all things for his glory. Habakkuk, like Job, questions God’s justice, but in the end both realize that God is sovereign and his justice is far beyond their comprehension. Habakkuk’s message of judgment on Judah would not have been well accepted, for the nation had been blinded by sin while false prophets were declaring that God would not punish his chosen people. But God’s justice demands that wickedness be punished, whether found in pagan nations or in his own people.”
From that theme and even from chapter 1, we see that the main thing that Habakkuk needs to learn is to trust God when things don’t make sense to him.
In verse 5, 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.” God is working things out for his glory and our good in Christ. Sometimes our opinion of what our “good” is doesn’t exactly line up with God’s opinion. This is where trust comes in. This is where we must truly believe objective truth instead of our subjective feelings. This is not to minimize the struggle that this can be, but it is meant to give you courage to make that choice when you inevitably face this in your life.
When is a time that you were faced with a choice between trusting God over your circumstantial feelings? What did you learn from your reaction that could help you make godlier choices in the future?
Written By: Graham Withers
The book of Habakkuk reads as a conversation between God and the prophet Habakkuk. The book predicts the Babylonian invasion of Judah and shows Habakkuk wrestling with God about why he would allow such a thing to happen.
This is what the ESV Study Bible writes about this book:
“By the end of the book, Habakkuk is a changed person—he has learned to wait and trust in God, who works out all things for his glory. Habakkuk, like Job, questions God’s justice, but in the end both realize that God is sovereign and his justice is far beyond their comprehension. Habakkuk’s message of judgment on Judah would not have been well accepted, for the nation had been blinded by sin while false prophets were declaring that God would not punish his chosen people. But God’s justice demands that wickedness be punished, whether found in pagan nations or in his own people.”
From that theme and even from chapter 1, we see that the main thing that Habakkuk needs to learn is to trust God when things don’t make sense to him.
In verse 5, 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.” God is working things out for his glory and our good in Christ. Sometimes our opinion of what our “good” is doesn’t exactly line up with God’s opinion. This is where trust comes in. This is where we must truly believe objective truth instead of our subjective feelings. This is not to minimize the struggle that this can be, but it is meant to give you courage to make that choice when you inevitably face this in your life.
When is a time that you were faced with a choice between trusting God over your circumstantial feelings? What did you learn from your reaction that could help you make godlier choices in the future?
Written By: Graham Withers
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