When it is time to question God
Written by GodisLove1John416
Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 05:22 AM.
Have we ever finished watching the evening news with all the violence and injustice in the world and in frustration asked, Why isnât God doing something? Why do the wicked and the dishonest people prosperï¼True, Sadam Hussein paid for his crime against humanity, so did Hitler. But why did Idi Armin, who committed countless atrocities in Uganda lived to an old age before dying? Why did Pol Pot who killed more than a million of his own people escape justice and died through natural causes? Why are innocent Iraqis killed daily through suicide bombs, kidnappings and senseless killings? Why Robert Mugabe still oppressing his own people in Zimbabwe?
Well, our frustrations are nothing new. A prophet named Habakkuk felt that way. Israel was facing political and social upheaval about 620 B.C. Habakkukâs name means to âembraceâ or âwrestle.â As is usually the case, his name has something to do with the message of the book. It probably relates to the fact that he was wrestling with a difficult issue.
Habakkuk expresses the attitude that many righteous people have. He was outraged at the violence and injustice in his society. He lists six different problems in the book that bore his name. His emphasized just how bad things were. There was sin, wickedness, destruction and violence, no justice in the courts, and the wicked outnumbered the righteous. Does this sound like our society? In verse 4 he says, that the law was ignored. God's word was no longer the standard.
Habakkuk was preaching against injustice but he was having little effect. Habakkuk raised a good question. Why does evil go unpunished? Why do the wicked prosper? Why doesnât God do something? Look back to verse 2. Habakkuk has been praying. Evidently, he has been praying for a long time because he says, âHow long, O Lord, will I call for help, And Thou wilt not hear?â He also thinks God is indifferent and inactive.
Some people think that men of faith never question God. They just sit and wait faithfully and patiently. But one thing we can learn from Habakkuk is that this is a misconception. Those who trust in God can and do question God because they know God intimately and want to ask the tough questions. But such questioning is not as a result of lack of faith but a desire to know God intimately.
