Habakkuk: God is Good All the Time!

Hi friend! Thank you for ceasing your scroll and stopping by my blog. It’s hard to believe we are throttling towards mid-June at full speed. We just celebrated Memorial Day, the day we remember those who gave their all so that we might live in freedom. And now, Independence Day is right around the bend. As I’ve grown older, it seems like the days pass by faster. Is that true for you, too?

By God’s grace, I will be celebrating another birthday later this Summer. The Lord has been gracious and kind to me. No more so than allowing me the privilege to preach His word on occasion—something I had the honor to do twice in ten days, recently.

I don’t know where you are in your Bible Reading Plan for 2023, but I found myself wandering around in the heart of the Old Testament Minor Prophets—minor because of the brevity of their writings; not because of their lesser importance. No, indeed. If you spend time with the Minors, you’ll quickly realize their value. They are each unique in their delivery and interaction with the Lord. But they offer us steadfast reminders of the hope and redemption we have in God, through Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

I spent most of my time with Habakkuk, a prophet we hardly know much about, truth be told. But I’ve come to know him as a friend, even though he roamed Planet Earth back in 600 B.C.

Unlike most every other prophet who deliver a word from God to the people, Habakuk has a few choice words he decides to take to God.

The prophet is deeply disturbed by the wickedness, evil, and violence he witnesses going on all around his beloved home country of Judah. So Habakkuk turns to God and pleads with the Lord to do something. And the Lord responds. But, not in the way Habakkuk expected. Have you ever had that experience?

As you and I experience God along our spiritual journey, there are times the Lord answers our prayers in ways we did not expect. Honestly, some of God’s best responses to my prayers turned out to be the ones He didn’t answer —at least not in the way I wanted or not on this side of Heaven. Through prayer—talking with God—I am reminded God’s timing is not my timing.

Habakkuk learns that God’s plan isn’t always our plan. The Lord replies to Habakkuk’s pleas by telling him that He is sending the cruel, malicious Babylonians—-merciless warriors who hung people up throughout their conquered cities with fish hooks for all to see. They were a people who trusted in their own strength and whose worship was steeped in idolatry that was marked by child sacrifice. You get the picture. They are evil personified. Which begs the question, can God use evil for good? Or, rather, DOES God use evil for good? The short answer is YES.

Squirming in your seat? I know that I was when I first realized it.

God being sovereign—-and He is—-can use whatever means He wants and chooses to reconcile us to Him. Consider the Cross…the death of Jesus through crucifixion was the worst kind of death to suffer. Yet, God took something tremendously horrific and used it for good. Hard to comprehend, I know, but true.

When Jesus Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane and the ultimate darkness was coming down on him and he knew it was coming, he didn’t abandon you; he died for you. If Jesus Christ didn’t abandon you in his darkness, the ultimate darkness, why would he abandon you now, in yours?”

Tim Keller

At the end of his conversation with God, Habakkuk responds to the Lord the only way he can—in worship. It’s the way we should respond in our suffering. Worship isn’t just for when times are good. It’s good for when times are bad.

I trembled inside when I heard this;my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me,and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. 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 3:16-19 (New Living Translation)

Like Habakkuk, we can cling confidently to God, knowing in good times and bad, God is good, no matter what.

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If you want to hear one of the sermons I preached on this mighty prophet, I’ve included the link here, This message was delivered on June 3rd at the Neighborhood Church in Garland (Texas).

The sermon takes a 35,000 foot view of the book of Habakkuk and offers a contemporary application. As I mentioned, Habakkuk’s world is full of violence and confusion, much like ours. Yet throughout his raw but reverent conversation with God, Habakkuk remains confident in God’s goodness. Are we able to say that God is really good “all the time”? Habakkuk invites us to cry to God, cling to God, and be confident in God. God is faithful to keep His promises so we really can trust in his goodness.

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We live in challenging and confusing times. What we once thought right, we are now told is wrong. Many days, it feels like we are living in the upside down. Violence and confusion surrounds us. Our contemporary culture is not only corrupted by sin, but demands we celebrate it. As Habakkuk did then, 600 years before Jesus began His ministry in the flesh on Earth, we can rely on the goodness of God, today.

I pray all is well with your soul, my friend. Thank you for spending some time on my blog. Please let me know you stopped by with a “like”’or a “comment.” I love hearing from you. Amen.

May you rejoice in the Lord today—with abundant blessings,

Rainer Bantau 

The Devotional Guy™

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The Devotional Guy™ Rainer Bantau © 2023