Why does God stay silent while evil around us grows stronger and injustice goes unpunished? The prophet Habakkuk brought that question to God, and the answer he received turned out to be harder than the question itself, the cure seemed worse than the disease (Habakkuk 1-3). This sermon shows that God’s justice works on the scale of eternity rather than our short span of time, and that its heart is not deeds but faith: the righteous will live by faith. Listen if you are still waiting for an answer that has not yet come.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Habakkuk begins with a complaint: "How long, Lord?" What injustices does he see in Judah, and why does he bring them straight to God rather than to people?
- God answers that the cruel Chaldeans will be His instrument of judgment on Israel. Why is this answer so shocking to Habakkuk, and what does it say about God being Lord of history?
- The sermon said that when God does answer, He often does it in a way that escapes our understanding. When has your own sense of justice collided with the way God works?
- God tells Habakkuk that the vision awaits its appointed time: "though it linger, wait for it." What helps you keep waiting for God to act when evil seems to go unpunished?
- "The righteous will live by faith." How does this truth change the way you see other people, since all of us need grace, not just the "worse" ones?
- Habakkuk ends with the words: "though the fig tree does not bud, yet I will rejoice in the Lord." In what difficult situation this week do you want to express that same trust in God, and what might it look like in practice?
