Why God?

We are starting a new series this morning. Titled When God Doesn’t.

A study in the book of Habakkuk.

if you have your bible go ahead and turn to Habakkuk 1. If you know were it is. Habakkuk is a small book so it might be hard to find. It is found in the Old Test. a couple of book after Jonah and before you get to Malachi. If you do not have your bible then you can follow along in on the screen

Some of time when we ask God something we get silence. When we are trying to figure out where to go in life or what he wants us to do do next. Or why he allowed something thing to happen. We seem to not get an answer for him.

Think for a moment.

Have you ask why God?

My guess is you have. We all go though time when we Ask why God. Why would you all this to happen? Why would lead me here.? Why did you leave me?

I have asked some of the question. I have asked before Why God.

The first 4 verse of Habakkuk deal with this type of question. Habakkuk is praying Why God. Why would you allow this to happen. Why have you left your people.

Join me as I read in Habakkuk

Habakkuk 1:1–4 CSB

1 The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? 3 Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. 4 This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.

The first question that might come to mind after read this is who is Habakkuk and why is this book even in the bible?

Who is Habakkuk?

There is not a lot know about Habakkuk. None of the other prophet mention him. In fact the name Habakkuk is only used twice in the small book. We do know that he was the is the main person and that this is his prayer to God.

This book was written some time before the Babylonian kingdom took over under King Nebuchadnezzar in 605 B.C. In the this time frame it would have place Habakkuk in Judah around 607 B.C. During one of hte most wicked king that Judah (Israel) saw. That king was Jehoiakim. If would like to read more about how wick of a man he was all of his story is written in 2 Kings 23:24-24-17.

There was a lot going on at the time Habakkuk was praying this and writing it.

He Cried out to God

He felt that God was not listening to him. He felt that God had abandon the people of Israel.

If you read it it almost look like Habakkuk is complaining about all that problem that he see. That this evil was so all around.

This type of prayer is seen in many different areas of bible for Job 23 to Psalm 55. This idea of prayers of complaint or Lament is not a lack of faith prayer. It more of a turning our heart to God and pouring out our souls. Telling confessing all of the negative thought, pain and dark emotion to help transform our faith in God. It is not a sign of unbelief.

A couple of years ago. A worship Band out of Ireland named Rend Collective wrote a song titled “Weep with Me”. This song was their response to the terrorist attack in London and Manchester.

“It can sometimes be tempting for us to dial back our worship, or become less honest, or more divorced from what's going on in the world," explains Chris Llewellyn. "But if you look at the Psalms, there is this whole genre called lament where we lift up songs that are full of the truth of what we are going through, the wrestling we are going through, but [they are] also full of hopefulness and full of faith."

Llewellyn adds, "We believe that we have a God who cares about our issues; he wants to hear us honestly wrestle with them and so we have written this song called 'Weep With Me'... We can't make the pain go away. We refuse to provide cheap, shallow answers. But hopefully this song can give us some vocabulary to bring our raw, open wounds before the wounded healer, who weeps with us in our distress. We pray that we can begin to raise a costly, honest and broken hallelujah. That is what it means to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

I will read just some the lyrics

Weep with me Lord will You weep with me? I don't need answers, all I need Is to know that You care for me Hear my plea Are You even listening? Lord I will wrestle with Your heart But I won't let You go

You know I believe Help my unbelief

Yet I will praise You Yet I will sing of Your name Here in the shadows Here I will offer my praise What's true in the light Is still true in the dark You're good and You're kind And You care for this heart Lord I believe You weep with me

Habakkuk cried out for a long time

Starting in verse 2. Habakkuk call on God for help but there was no response from God. He even accuses God of not listening to him

Habakkuk 1:2 CSB

2 How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save?

Habakkuk cried out for a long time

We all can learn some thing for how Habakkuk is praying there. The first thing is we can show our real emotion in seasons of darkness. that Ok. I have said before that pray is a two way street. And that means sometime we have to show angry, pain in our prayers.

But there our time when God seem to not respond. so that bring up a question.

How do we respond when God doesn’t answer?

what do we do when he seem mute or not there?

What do we do when it seem like we prow out our heart to God and we get apparent silence in return?

All throughout scripture many different godly mean and women struggled with the apparent silence for God.

Even Jesus, during his greatest need when his soul became overwhelmed with sorrow even to the point of death (Mark 14:34), poured out his heart to God the Father three times, asking to be spared from his coming sufferings, if possible. As far as the Scriptures record, the Father did not respond to Jesus

The silence of God does not mean we have been forsaken by God; he is also present with us—even in the silence.

in verse 3 and 4

Habakkuk lays out all the violence

that he saw around him. The destruction, killing, violence and conflict. And yet God seem to still not say anything or do anything. By God be idle Habakkuk think that God is allow the wrong, the evildoers to go unpunished, the evil to grow, and that justice get prevented.

God does not intervene. God does not save.

When we believe that God is silent in answering our prayers, we often conclude that he does not care.

However, as we will see as we continue our series over the next several weeks, God is active and answering prayers; Habakkuk merely does not realize this at this point in the story.

that poses other question.

How do you respond during rough time?

How do we respond in seasons of silence, darkness, and disappointment?

First, we pour our heart and unedited emotions to God:

Psalm 142:2 CSB

2 I pour out my complaint before him; I reveal my trouble to him.

. Second, we continue to exercise faith and trust in God:

Psalm 62:8 CSB

8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah

Third, we can confess our doubts, disappointments, and struggles as well, just as a man did with Jesus in Mark 9:23–24.

Mark 9:23–24 CSB

23 Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

Fourth, we rest in the faithful love of our heavenly Father who cares for us.

You can pour your heart and soul out to God even in the dark time

When we face dark, painful, and hard times, we can out pour our hearts and unedited emotions to God.

Even when to ask God Why.