Knowing the “Who” In A “Why” World
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19
One of the hardest questions to ever answer is the “Why?”. A person can go on for hours explaining his life away, and again the question can always be turned back to “Why?”.
Caleb has now entered into that phase. He’s becoming more and more curious about his surroundings, and what he can and cannot get away with. Inevitably, when faced with a barrier he cannot understand, the onslaught of “why” fills the air.
As adults, we too are left many times questioning the things around us. We’re often left shaking our heads, never fully understanding why things take place.
The hardest questions to find answers to is why a loving God would allow such tragedies occur in our lives, especially the lives of the ones who bear His name. Many questioned God when Ethel King came down with cancer. I asked God why Caleb had to get so sick with E coli, while the twin boys with the same kind walked away relatively healthy.
The only bad thing with the asking why is that we never really get an answer. If God were a sadistic tyrant, His answers could easily be “Why not?”. But He doesn’t do that. Vance Havner said, “God marks across some of our days, “Will explain later.”
While asking why may bring some people a small amount of comfort, I truly do not think that we’re looking for the right thing. I think that when more often we are looking for a sense of comfort instead of the answers.
Habakkuk, like many of us, actually stopped up and questioned God about what was happening to his people and his home. Unlike any of the other prophets, Habakkuk questioned God. He wanted to know why these things were going on. Also, like many of us, he missed something by asking that question.
Habakkuk’s Question:
Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen? (Ch. 1:2-4; 12-2:1)
Habakkuk wanted to know, just as we do, what God was doing and why. There seemed to be too much evil among the “righteous” and too much freewheeling power among the wicked. (Nelson Study Bible)
We look around at our world today, and we too ask “Why?” Where is God now? Why doesn’t He do anything? Are you still there God?
There’s something within our make up that questions God’s ability and reasoning. I don’t know about you, but I do not find very much comfort in the verse “ My ways are not your ways; and my thoughts are not your thoughts.” That does nothing for me when I want to know the answers. Apparently, that very comfort would not comfort Habakkuk either. He asked the same why question twice to God.
Biblical “Whys”
• If all is well, why am I like this? So she went to inquire of the Lord.—Rebekah, in Genesis 25:22
• Why did we ever come up out of Egypt.—the Israelites, in Numbers 11:20
• Why then has all this happened to us.—Gideon, in Judges 6:13
• They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel?”—the Israelites following the destruction of the tribe of Benjamin
• Why is the house of God forsaken?—Nehemiah, in Nehemiah 13:11
• Why have you set me as your target?—Job, in Job 7:20
• Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?—Psalm 10:1
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?—Matthew 27:46
We’re not alone when we ask why. But if that’s all we ask in times of trouble, we’ll never find the comfort that we need, and we’ll walk away discouraged. I think to many people have left the church and have turned away from God because they could never find the answer to those questions.
If we take a look at what God had to say to Habakkuk, we’ll see that in times of toils and troubles, it’s not “Why” we’re we’ll find all the answer. We need to turn to the “Who”. We need to find the One who called Himself “I am Who I AM!”
God’s Responses To Habakkuk’s Why’s.
a) God has under His control (5)
God is the One who has it all in His hands. As He told Habakkuk., the things that He does
and why He allows them to happen is not for us to know because we wouldn’t believe Him. But He is still in control. We can continue to question, but God allows such things to happen to fulfill His plans.
b) God knows what He is doing (13)
God has determined that some things need to take place to better His people. He allowed Habakkuk’s people to go into exile to strengthen their need for Him. But God promised that He would bring them back to Him. God’s people live by promises, not by explanations.—Warren Wiersbe.
We too live under the promises of God. It’s not always for us to know why things are going wrong, but it is an every day occurrence that we have faith in the One who called us to a new life in Him.
Our Response to it all (Habakkuk 3:1-19)
In Habakkuk 3, we find the prayer that should be our prayer. If it’s not for us to know why, then it’s time for us to turn to the Who that is in control of it all!
a) Reflect on Who He Is (3:1-2)
b) Remember All That He Has Done (3:3-17)
c) Rejoice In The Fact That He Is God (3:18-19)
Conclusion
I lay my “whys”
before Your Cross
in worship kneeling,
my mind too numb
for thought,
my heart beyond
all feeling.
And worshipping
realize that I
in knowing You
don’t need a “why.” Ruth Bell Graham
