The Disconcerting Dilemma Of Divine Inaction-2

The DISCONCERTING DILEMMA Of DIVINE INACTION--II

—Habakkuk 1:2b(1:1-4)

Key Words—

•Difficult/Disturbing/Disorienting/Disconcerting/Perplexing/Uncertainty/Unsettling.

•Dilemma/Predicament/Quandary/Situation.

Attention:

One of our mechanically-gifted members told me that he had fixed, restored, or updated, & installed a ‘steering linkage’ to one of his cars. The short comment that he had about it—as he hung his head— was, “It didn’t work.” I don’t know how many parts were involved in reinstalling the particular linkage, but there are probably 6, 8 to 10 main parts, some of which are themselves composed of multiple parts. When assembled, it is crucial that they work in tandem with one another, & with & around other parts of the car. If there is even one part that is faulty, or is attached wrongly, or rubs against something that it should not rub against—so that it binds, or overheats or causes something else to overheat or wear, when there’s not enough clearance—then the entire linkage will fail.

•Mechanics deal with those types of problems all day long. And a good mechanic will do everything within his/her power to find & resolve the problem.

•People who are not mechanics just expect to hop in their car, take the wheel in hand, & effortlessly steer....They don’t attempt to resolve a problem with the steering, EXCEPT to take it to a conscientious mechanic!

*Having said that, While your vehicle is in the shop, you can get anxious. And you can ‘dream up’ all manner of ‘fanciful excuses’ as to ‘Why’ your vehicle isn’t ready yet—& MOST of the ‘dreamed up’ excuses are aimed at the supposed negligence of the mechanic(s) involved!

In a similar vein, there are multiple things at play in the execution & outworking of God’s sovereignty. There are many things you may not realize, puzzling things that ONLY God is qualified to resolve. God is the designer, so it is up to you & me to trust Him with His creation & kingdom.

Need:

Most of us at times, have questioned:—Why God doesn’t do something’ about whatever malady, or affliction, or trouble, or distress we’re facing.

As Christians, we can allow those things to become disorienting, unsettling, & disconcerting to our faith in God thru Christ.

Habakkuk was a prophet of God, who faced the disconcerting/unsettling dilemma of Divine inaction towards His people, Judah.

Divine ‘inaction’ presents an unsettling dilemma for God’s people.

How is Divine inaction unsettling?

4 fabrications that EITHER: accentuate the dilemma,—OR—that muddy/confuse/obscure the answer/explanation of God’s inaction.

*First & foremost it must be said, that it is a FACT that God is neither inactive, nor is He negligent, nor indifferent to your plight!*

*God’s seeming ‘inaction/inactivity’ is actually a ‘human perception’ problem!*

•That is, unless a person’s ‘limited perception’ of reality is overcome by the Spirit of God, such people will continue to muddy the waters of God’s reality!

A ‘FABRICATION’ is—“The action or process of manufacturing or inventing something.” For our purposes here, a ‘fabrication’ is a misleading attempt to make sense of what might be perceived as God’s inaction.

Previously we found that

A fabrication forged thru Divine inaction is An Unsettling...

1. ‘INATTENTION’ To PERSONAL PLIGHT(:2a)

Today we’ll find that:

2—Another fabrication forged thru Divine inaction is An Unsettling...

‘REFUSAL’ TO SAVE(:2b)

Explanation:(:2b)Indifference

:2b—“...Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.”

Habakkuk “cries out” specifically to YHWH regarding the “violence” that is ravaging the land of Israel.

And it is apparent to Habbakuk that despite the fact that “violence” rather than godliness now characterizes the promised land, God does still refuses to act! God does “not save” His people!

YHWH CAN “save”, but He has chosen to “not save.”

*The same scenario in which Habakkuk lived & ministered in the Southern Kingdom of ‘Judah’, had been previously played out before, thru the Northern Kingdom of ‘Israel.’

And due to ‘spiritual negligence’ by the Northern Kingdom of ‘Israel’, the Northern Kingdom was exiled from their God-granted land, by the pagan nation of Assyria in 722/721BC!

In our current Habakkuk passage, we see that God is doing a similar thing! He is in the process of turning ‘Judah’ over to their own sin.

Rom. 1:18-22, 24-32—“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness & unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power & Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, & their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,”..... “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, & receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”