“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19 NLT)
The prophet Habakkuk took a look at the world around him and saw the destruction. He was shocked. All he could do was ask the same question you and I ask today: “WHY?” But Habakkuk speaks in defense of God’s goodness and power in the presence of destruction. Habakkuk shows his faith because he praises God’s person, God’s power, and God’s purpose. But further, Habakkuk offers praise as the result of his faith.
Habakkuk makes it clear that it is acceptable for us to question what God is doing in our lives. He even encourages it. What he does not encourage is doubt. When we are thrown into suffering for a period of time, or our enemies are prospering while we are just barely getting by, we wonder about the fairness of God and life. Habakkuk affirms that God is God and we are made to climb over the mountains of difficulty. We just need to be still and know He is at work. He is who He says He is and does keep His promises.
We all have questions, a lot of question. Tough questions. QUESTIONS that we still have EVEN when we go before God in worship and prayer. WHY?
• Why – did something happen?
• Why - did God allow something to happen?
• Why – didn’t He stop something from happening?
• Why – are some homes spared and others destroyed?
• Why – do some live and others die?
• Where – was God in all this?
Sometimes all we can do is to simply say, “I don’t know.” “I don’t know why.” There is nothing wrong with that. If sometimes in life, we want to ask God “why,” understand we are not alone. God’s people have been asking the creator why ever since time began. The prophet Habakkuk who lived over 2600 years ago asked God, “Why?”
I have a teacher who taught me, “We already know the answer. It is the question that we do not understand.”
• WHY do terrible things happen? I don’t know… BUT - I do know that God is good, that God is just, that God is fair.
• WHY does God allow terrible things to happen? I don’t know… BUT - I do know that God is STILL on His throne, that He is still the Sovereign Lord who is our strength and who makes it possible for us to stand on the heights.
• WHY doesn’t God stop bad things from happening? I don’t know… BUT - I do know that His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts.
• WHY do some live and others die? I don’t know… BUT - I do know that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and that he who believes in Him will LIVE even though he dies. (John 11:25)
• WHY does some cancer go away and other cancer kill? I don’t know… BUT - I do know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
• WHY do some marriages run smooth and others seem to struggle and even fall completely apart…? I don’t know… BUT - I do know that if we consider it (The good and the bad) pure joy God will use it to make us mature and complete not lacking in anything. (James 1:2-4)
• WHY do some people seem to always have more than enough money and others can barely make ends meet? I don’t know… BUT – I do know that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness all these things will be given to us as well. (Matthew 6:33)
• WHY are some people forced to live under so much pressure and stress? I don’t know… BUT - I do know that God can give you a peace that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7)
• WHY do some kids get to grow up in homes where they are loved and valued and others have to grow up in homes where they feel worthless and discarded? I don’t know… BUT – I do know that though your father and mother may abandon you the LORD will hold you close (Psalm 27:10)
• WHY does this life at times seem to be full of nothing but struggle, hardship and suffering? I don’t know… BUT – I do know that our present suffering are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:19).
• WHY does it seem like so many things right now are stacked against us? I don’t know… BUT – I do know that in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39)
YES – We have questions today that are harder than ever before to answer.
AND – there are many “I don’t knows.”
BUT – there are a few things upon which we can depend with no doubt…
AND – those are the things we must choose to hold on to… ‘Tis so sweet;
• to trust in Jesus
• to put my hope in Him
• to rest upon His promises
• to know that if His eye is on the sparrow then that eye is most definitely watching over me
• to know that Christ can and will deliver me
• to know that he will walk with me in the wilderness
• to know that he is the matchless king and the fount of every blessing.
God will prepare his people to be successful even in the middle of great challenges. He enables us to go to the higher places with Him where we are set apart from the world. Sometimes the way we have to go to get us there is through suffering and sorrow, but if we rest in Him and trust Him we come out where He wants us.
When Jesus told the disciples He was going to send the Holy Spirit to them, it was in order for them to scale the mountain before them with a new form of power they had not experienced. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
If we find ourselves in a place of doubting God and His plan for our life, know that this is a normal aspect of our journey with God. However, know that God has made available His Holy Spirit in order for us to accomplish the tasks that lie ahead.
The next time we wonder “why,” The point is not “why.” The point is to trust and obey God. The point is to exalt Jesus Christ. The point is to ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to achieve the highest and best possible result for which God has created us and for which Jesus Saves us by God’s love, mercy, and grace.
Hello Again!!
7 years ago
