Habukkuk's Prayer

"Habakkuk: The Prophet Who Questioned God" 

The biblical book of Habakkuk, one of the Minor Prophets, stands out for a very modern reason: it’s not a message to the people, but a candid, two-part dialogue between a prophet and God. 

Living around 600 B.C., Habakkuk looked at the Kingdom of Judah and cried out, "Why do you tolerate all this violence and injustice?" 

God’s answer was astonishing: He was raising up the brutal Babylonians to bring judgment. This only made the prophet more troubled: "How can a righteous God use a nation more wicked than we are?" 

God's ultimate response delivered one of Scripture's most enduring statements: "The righteous shall live by his faith." God confirmed that while the Babylonians would have their moment, they, too, would face judgment. 

The book ends not with an easy answer, but with a powerful declaration of trust: Habakkuk resolves to rejoice in the Lord and find his strength in God, even as catastrophe looms. Habakkuk is a profound study in how to maintain faith and hope when the world makes no sense. 
 
Habakkuk 3:17–19 
 
Though the fig tree does not bud 
and there are no grapes 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 rejoice in the Lord, 
I will be joyful in God my Saviour. 
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; 
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, 
he enables me to tread on the heights. 
 
Amen