“When God Doesn’t Make Sense”

Reading the Text – Habakkuk 1:1–11 (NLT)

1 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. 2 How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. 3 Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. 4 The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted. 5 The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands. 7 They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like. 8 Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey. 9 On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand. 10 They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them! 11 They sweep past like the wind and are gone. But they are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”

Introduction: When Heaven Seems Silent

Let’s be real. Some of you came to church today a little weary, maybe even wondering if your prayers are making a difference—but you still showed up, and that’s a win. You’ve been praying prayers that feel like they just bounce back off the ceiling, yet here you are pressing in, hoping God will meet you.

You’ve prayed for your family — nothing changed.

You’ve prayed for your finances — the bills keep stacking.

You’ve prayed for peace in the world — but every time you open the news, it’s war, terror attacks, school shootings, and another political scandal.

That’s Habakkuk’s world. He looks around and sees violence, corruption, and sin, and he’s bold enough to say to God: “How long, O Lord? You’re not listening!”

And let’s be honest — some of us came here today mad at God. Habakkuk shows us that’s okay. God is big enough to handle your anger.

Point 1: The Honest Cry (vv. 1–4)

Habakkuk opens with a complaint. Verse 2: “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen!”

He’s not whispering a bedtime prayer. He’s yelling. He’s tired of seeing blood on the streets, corrupt judges in the courts, and neighbors fighting instead of helping each other.

Exegetical Note

“How long” echoes the Psalms — it’s a covenant cry. In the Psalms, God’s people cry out again and again with this very phrase, showing that it is not weak faith but strong faith that refuses to give up on God. It’s like saying, “Lord, I know You’re the covenant‑keeping God, so I’m not letting go until You act.” This is faith fighting for answers, not walking away. It’s prayer that leans in with boldness, anchored in the belief that God’s promises are still true even when circumstances scream the opposite.

“Justice is perverted” — twisted, bent, broken. Habakkuk is saying the very thing that was supposed to set society straight has itself been warped. The courts that should have upheld God’s law were no longer delivering true justice. Instead, laws were manipulated, the guilty went free, and the innocent were crushed. This isn’t just about bad people doing bad things; it’s about the whole system being upside down. That’s why Habakkuk is so burdened—when justice is crooked, the righteous suffer and the wicked seem to win. It reminds us today that without God’s standard, even our best human systems bend under the weight of sin.

Modern Application in the Flow

Sound familiar? Look at our culture.

Courtrooms where the guilty walk free because they can pay better lawyers.

School shootings that seem like they’re weekly.

Politicians who weaponize truth — spin it, twist it, sell it.

Families ripped apart by addiction, marriages ending in divorce.

Story: A mom once told me, “I’ve prayed every night for my son who’s addicted. And every morning I wake up wondering if today’s the day the police knock on my door.” That’s Habakkuk.

Paul Tripp says: “God invites us into honest lament because He would rather have you yell at Him than walk away from Him.” That’s powerful, because it reframes lament as an act of faith. When you yell, cry, or pour out your frustration, you’re actually proving you still believe God is there and that He hears you. Lament is not a sign of weak faith but living faith — faith that refuses to go silent. Think about it: indifference is when you stop talking to God at all. Lament is when you keep knocking on His door, even with tears streaming down your face. It’s raw, but it’s also real, and it’s the kind of prayer that keeps you close rather than drifting away.

Application: Stop pretending in prayer. Stop Instagram-filtering your pain before you bring it to God. He doesn’t need your mask — He wants your mess.

Point 2: The Shocking Response (vv. 5–11)

Finally, God answers. Verse 5: “Look around at the nations… I’m doing something you wouldn’t believe even if I told you.”

If I’m Habakkuk, I’m thinking: “Finally! God’s going to send revival! He’s going to fix the corruption! Maybe another King David!”

But God drops the bomb in verse 6: “I am raising up the Babylonians.”

Wait. The Babylonians? That’s like God saying, “I see America’s corruption, so I’m raising up ISIS to deal with it.” Unthinkable. Offensive.

Exegetical Note

“I am raising up” — sovereignty. God doesn’t just allow Babylon; He directs them. This means that even the rise of wicked nations is not outside His hand. He is not passively watching history unfold; He is actively orchestrating events to accomplish His purposes. For Habakkuk, that was shocking because it meant God would use a violent, pagan empire as His instrument of discipline. For us, it reminds us that no political power, no world event, and no season of hardship escapes God’s control. His sovereignty is not just about permission but direction—He bends even human rebellion to serve His redemptive plan.

Verse 11: “Their strength is their god.” God uses them, but their pride seals their judgment. This highlights Babylon’s core sin: pride. They worshiped their own military power and trusted their armies, weapons, and strategies instead of the living God. Their strength became their idol, and that arrogance guaranteed judgment. God may have used them as His instrument, but He never excused their idolatry. It’s a reminder for us today that when we trust in our own strength — our finances, our talents, our achievements — rather than in God, we’re bowing down to false gods that cannot save.

Modern Application in the Flow

Sometimes God’s answers look worse than His silence.

You pray for patience, and He gives you a boss who makes your blood boil.

You ask for peace, and He allows conflict in your home.

You ask for revival in your city, and He lets hardship strip away people’s false hopes.

Craig Groeschel: “God often answers in ways that challenge our categories, because His goal isn’t our comfort but our transformation.” That truth is hard to swallow, because everything in us wants comfort. We want the quick fix, the easy answer, the pain‑free solution. But God’s greater goal is to shape us into the image of Christ, and transformation rarely happens in comfort. It happens in pressure, in fire, in waiting. That’s why sometimes His answers confuse us — He’s not trying to make life easier; He’s making us more like Jesus.

Illustration: Think of a surgeon. You walk in with stomach pain, hoping for Tylenol. Instead, he says, “We need to cut you open.” Surgery feels violent, but it’s the only way to save your life.

Application: Some of you are in God’s operating room. It doesn’t feel like love, but it is. His knife is mercy in disguise. Think of it this way: when the surgeon cuts, it’s not to harm but to heal. In the same way, God’s discipline can sting, but it is always driven by His love and aimed at our restoration. Hebrews reminds us that the Lord disciplines those He loves. So if you’re in the operating room right now, don’t mistake the scalpel for cruelty—see it as the careful hand of a Father who refuses to let the sickness of sin destroy you.

Point 3: The God Who Rules History

Habakkuk forces us to face a God bigger than we want Him to be. Not a cozy therapist. Not a genie. A King who controls nations, history, and time itself.

John Mark Comer: “We want God to be a life coach who tweaks our habits, but He is the cosmic King who is shaping history.”

Illustration: From our perspective, life looks like chaos. But picture a chess master. He sacrifices a rook, and you think, “That’s insane!” But he sees checkmate ten moves away. That’s God with history. The difference is that unlike us, He sees every move on the board at once. What feels like loss to you may actually be part of His winning strategy. We only see the piece being taken, but He sees the victory unfolding. In the same way, the setbacks, detours, and even tragedies in your life are not random—they are steps in a plan where He is always several moves ahead, working toward His ultimate glory and your ultimate good.

Judah Smith: “Faith is not getting God to do what you want. Faith is trusting that He knows what He’s doing when you don’t.”

Application: Trust His sovereignty even when His strategy doesn’t make sense.

Point 4: From Habakkuk to the Cross

Habakkuk saw Babylon. We see something greater — the cross.

The greatest injustice ever — the sinless Son of God mocked, beaten, and crucified — became the greatest victory ever. Picture it: darkness at noon, the earth shaking, the crowd jeering, and the Son of God gasping His last breath. From a human perspective, it looked like total defeat. But in that very moment of agony, heaven was shouting triumph. The cross is proof that God takes the worst evil, the darkest day in history, and flips it into salvation. Out of blood and nails came forgiveness; out of shame came glory; out of death came eternal life.

The cross shows us that God doesn’t just sit back and observe suffering from a distance—He stepped right into it, took it on Himself, and turned it into redemption.

Application: If God can use Babylon, He can use the cross. And if He can use the cross, He can use your broken story.

Gospel Presentation

Let’s get real: some of you walked in here like Habakkuk. Bitter. Angry. Confused. Maybe you even thought, “If God doesn’t answer me soon, I’m done.”

But the God of Habakkuk is the God of the cross. He hasn’t abandoned you. He entered your suffering. He carried your sin. He died your death. He rose for your life.

You don’t need all the answers to trust the God who gave you Jesus.

Invitation & Sinner’s Prayer

SO for those of you who you’ve never surrendered your story to Christs, this is your moment. Pray with me:

“Lord Jesus, I admit I am a sinner in need of grace. I believe You died for my sins and rose again. Today, I surrender. Forgive me, change me, and lead me. I trust You, even when I don’t understand. Amen.”

Conclusion: From Complaint to Trust

Habakkuk starts with a complaint, but by chapter 3 he’s worshiping: “Though the fig tree does not bud, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”

That’s the journey: from confusion to faith, from complaint to trust, from despair to praise.

And that’s the call today. Don’t quit. Don’t walk away. Keep wrestling. Keep trusting. The God who raised up Babylon, and the God who raised Jesus from the grave, is still writing your story.