Today, we will explore the thought-provoking questions that arise from our relationship with God, using the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk as our guide. Is it okay to ask God why? This episode explores the significance of questioning God, especially in times of uncertainty and turmoil. We’ll look at how Habakkuk didn't just ask once, but repeatedly sought answers from God when faced with injustice and suffering in his world. His journey leads us to understand that having a conversational relationship with God is not only acceptable but essential for our spiritual growth. Join me as we unpack these themes and reflect on how we can cultivate a deeper connection with God in our own lives.

Takeaways:

• Yvon Prehn believes the Bible provides everything needed for meaning, love, and peace in life.
• Questions towards God, like why evil exists, are valid and encouraged in our faith journey.
• The book of Habakkuk illustrates how to engage in honest conversations with God during tough times.
• Developing a conversational relationship with God is essential for spiritual growth and understanding.

Links referenced in this episode:

• www.bible805.com

Hi, I'm Yvon Prehnfrom Bible 805 and I truly believe the Bible has everything you need to find meaning and purpose, love and peace in this life, and it is a source for forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation. In this podcast and through longer lessons and shorter challenges, I want to tell you about it by making sometimes complex Bible topics understandable. So let's do that today with our podcast topic, which is

The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. Is it okay to ask God why?

Is it really okay to ask God why? We all have questions like why does God allow evil? Why do evil people get away with things?

Why do good people get caught up in the mess that others make?

In this lesson we'll look at the prophet Habakkuk and what happened when he not only asked God why, but when he kept asking God when he didn't like how God answered him the first time. Habakkuk is a fascinating book, but before we get into answering these questions, let's look at the form of the book before we look at its content.

This book, Habakkuk, is a record of a conversation with God. This is not an unusual thing, or it shouldn't be, which will be the modern message from this book.

But before we talk about that specifically, remember Job is another example of a conversation with God. The Psalms are full of these conversations with God, where the writer directly addresses God with questions or complaints.

So often in fact, you may not even have been aware of the conversational nature of them. So are some of the New Testament writings of Paul, as when he asked God directly why he couldn't get rid of a physical problem that he had.

What does it mean to have a conversation with God? Popular culture tells us when people mention talking to God or hearing from God, it's a sign of delusional self deception.

But it might be something else entirely. What if it is an intrinsic part of an intimate and real relationship with God?

One resource that's been helpful to me in looking at this whole idea of talking to and hearing God has been the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. A deep and thought provoking, highly recommended book. There's so much in it. But let me read you one quote from the introduction.

Here is a quote from the introduction of the book Hearing God Hearing God. A daring idea, some would say presumptuous and even dangerous. But what if we're made for it?

What if the human system simply will not function properly without it? There are good reasons to think it will not. The fine texture as well as the grand movements of life show the need.

Is it not, in fact, more presumptuous and dangerous to undertake human existence without hearing from God? Consider this, that conversation with God is how we ought to live.

It's not an unusual otherworldly activity, but God's intention from the day of human creation, when in the Garden of Eden, God walked with Adam in the cool of the day, it will be restored as John looks forward in the book of revelation in Revelation 21:3, where he says, look, God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. That will be glorious.

But as Habakkuk shows, it's available to us now, and I think it's something our Lord desires. Remember the love he showed throughout the book of Hosea?

And amazing as that seems, he made us for interaction with him and died so that the sin that separates us was destroyed. And he gives us eternal life so we'll never be separated from Him. He wants us to talk to Him.

But what if we don't have a conversational relationship with God? I'd argue it isn't simply a spiritual bonus, but essential because humans cannot bear to be alone.

We'll always be talking to someone, and in return, we'll always listen to someone. We always have reference others.

I've talked about this many times in the lesson because it's so important, because there are always voices we listen to. They're what guides us and our choices and our actions, even when we aren't conscious of it.

We talked about this briefly in the study of Hosea, but let's look at it a little more closely now. A key question we need to ask ourselves is who are they for us? Where do the voices you listen to come from? With whom?

Do you have internal conversations and external ones? Media? A sports team? Expectations of a social group?

Or does your heart immediately turn to God, to Jesus, to listen to what the Holy Spirit and His Word have to say? Where do we turn for answers, not only for daily actions of life, but to the big questions of personal or national tragedy?

Let's look at Habakkuk to see what he did in a very difficult time. Where did he turn for answers to make sense of his world? First, a historical review on the events during Habakkuk's time.

Previous to this time, the prophets preached and challenged Israel to repent. Repentance was no longer possible, though, for the nation of Israel. Because in 722.

The northern kingdom of Israel, the Ten Tribes, falls its exile to Assyria. In 612, though, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, is conquered by Babylon, as prophesied in the book of Nahum.

In 609 is the death of the godly king Josiah. And from 607 to 588 BC Habakkuk did his writing sometime during this time span. It was after Israel's fall.

Then he saw the fall of Nineveh and the rise of the power of Babylon. Then in 607 BC was the first invasion of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

Daniel was taken captive probably about two years after Habakkuk begins to write, and we'll talk about Daniel's life and what happened to him in the next lesson. But Habakkuk's ministry ends sometime before the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. In a time of uncertainty and turmoil.

Let's now go through the book and comment as we go. Here's how the book begin. Habakkuk says, how long Lord must I call for help? But you do not listen or cry out to you violence, but you do not save.

Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. There is strife and conflict abounds.

Therefore the law is paralyzed and justice never prevails. The wicked can't hem in the righteous so that justice perverted. There's a lot we can identify with in this prayer.

The world really hasn't changed that much. There's evil on the world stage, evil in the nation.

After the death of good King Josiah and the brief revival under him, the people hadn't learned from either the previous prophets or seeing the judgment of Israel. They keep living selfish lives focused on wealth and comfort, unconcerned about the poor living how they want to live.

Habakkuk shows things are wrong, and he wants to know why God isn't taking action. God never rebukes him for his questions. Asking God why is okay. And this begins a conversation between them.

God does not answer, though, as Habakkuk imagined he would. It says, here's what God says to Habakkuk. He says, look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed.

For I'm going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. I'm raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth.

They laugh at all fortified cities by building earthen rams. They Capture them. Then they sweep past like the wind and go on. Guilty people whose strength is their God. A little more about Babylon.

It was one of the oldest, most powerful nations in the ancient world.

It had a wall system consisting of ash, large stone, a retaining wall about 20ft high, surrounded by a mud brick wall that was 33ft high and 49ft thick. The stone retaining wall had projecting stone powers spaced every 59ft. The nation was evil, pagan and incredibly cruel. We've talked about this.

I've shown you images well documented in the archaeological evidence. They repented under Jonah, then reverted to their old ways. They conquered and resettled the northern kingdom of Israel.

God tells Habakkuk that this is going to happen before all of it does. Though we aren't totally sure of the exact dates of his message, this response does not satisfy Habakkuk. He is not at all happy about it.

He answers saying, lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment. You, my rock, have ordained them to punish.

But your eyes are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Then why do you tolerate the treacherous?

Why are you silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Is he to keep an eye on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy? After asking this question, why? I don't understand.

He says he's just going to wait in his tower and stand on his tower and wait for God to answer. He says this in Habakkuk 2:1, where he says, I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me.

And what answer am I to give to this complaint? Now, here's what we've learned so far. It's totally okay to question God. It's totally okay to discuss with God what concerns you.

God often does not do what we expect because we see a limited. Because we have a limited view of what's going on. We need to clarify the idea that no evil there, not being evil, is ever promised in this world.

And sometimes God allows it. He allowed the evil of Assyria and Babylon. We often just want the pain or the problem to stop now. But God is often working on something much bigger.

That is the time to have a conversation with God, to pour out your heart, to question, to pray at the same time to respectfully wait quietly, as Habakkuk did. But notice it was not an empty waiting time. It was a time waiting for God to speak.

We'll talk more about the practical implications of exactly really how to do that in a minute. God answers Habakkuk, though with a message for all time. It says.

Then the Lord replied in Habakkuk 2:2 write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it, for the revelation awaits an appointed time. It speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay. See, the enemy is puffed up.

His desires are not upright, but the righteous person will live by faith. God then goes on and catalogs the sins of the Babylonians. He knows them better than Habakkuk can imagine.

Stealing, extortion, plundering, unjust gain, bloodshed, excess drinking, sexual sins, idolatry. And though the primary emphasis on Babylon, God also implicates the sins of Judah, that they're similar and they will suffer judgment for them.

Because God is patient, though hoping for repentance from the worst of sinners, it does not mean that he doesn't notice and that he will not take action. Babylon did conquer Assyria and took Judah captive. But Babylon's empire only lasted 80 years and it too was gone.

And the people taken captive were returned. The Jews were returned to their homeland. We'll see the details of what happened to two of the captives, Daniel and Ezekiel, in our next lesson.

Habakkuk's final response A public song of praise. Here is his prayer in chapter three. Lord, I've heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them on our day, in our time.

Make them known in wrath. Remember mercy. I heard and my heart pounded. My lips quivered at the sound. Decay crept into my bones and my legs trembled.

Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. His prayer continues. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines.

Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls Yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God, my Savior, no matter what's happening. Outwardly, it can be really bad. No matter what that is, there's always cause for joy because God is in charge and he is a good God.

As I've said before, sometimes when I'm realizing that in the midst of a very difficult time, I will literally shake my fist at the heavens and say, I believe I serve a good God.

His prayer takes us back to a constant theme in the prophets that God is always working on a bigger picture than what we're aware of, and that includes sometimes allowing bad things to happen or go on for longer than we think they should. And in the end, Habakkuk acknowledges that though he can't understand the circumstances, he can trust and rest in God.

And so we're challenged with a question and an incredibly important application.

How can we develop this habit of lifelong conversation with God where we can feel free to ask questions, have the patience to listen for replies, and trust when the reply comes to us, regardless of what it is, as Habakkuk did, here's some advice I'm going to give you. Begin by talking to God. It's okay to talk First. God welcomes the prayers, the talk, the conversation of his children.

Prayer is simply talking to God, as this verse reminds us in Philippians 4. 6 Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers.

Now, what does the everything here include this pray about everything? Well, I think it means obviously everything.

Pour your heart out to God as a continual part of the conversation of your heart, day and night, over anything, everything, whatever is important to you. It is important to your God. He's got the bandwidth to handle it. So pray to him. But what about prayer lists? What about liturgical prayers?

Are those okay times of formal prayer prayer lists? They're all good. But a continuous conversation with God over all of life is so important in any meaningful relationship.

We think it very strange if the only time, for example, a married couple talked was with business agendas. If okay, dear, this is what we're going to do. This is my grocery list. Let me read it to you now.

There are times that those business meetings are important. Those are liturgical prayers are good. But it's often the little things, the unguarded sharing, that's most valuable.

We ought not to think less of our God. He wants to be invited into our lives just as much as any person who loves us wants to hear about the little things.

So often people are really too busy for us, too busy to listen to our babbling about what's important to us. But we'll never hear that from our God. He will never be too busy for us. And one little side note application here.

If you want to model Jesus, consider being a more kind, present listener to the people in your life. Don't be too busy for them. They need a human person to talk to. Also, after you pray, listen to what God has to say.

Now, how to do that Listening to God is not some vague spiritual experience. God speaks in a couple of ways. First of all through His Word. And we hear him often based on God's Word that bubbles up in our hearts.

That has come from time reading, studying, memorizing and meditating on it. Now you can use various resources to study it more deeply.

And once you have this reservoir inside of you, there are two ways then you can access his voice. 1. You can literally sit and listen for an impression from God. You can pray. Wait. Journal. Now. I said sit.

But I just now realized some people listen best when they're walking. You can do that too. I like to sit. Just continue to pray. I have an open journal on my lap.

And then if you feel the Lord is speaking to you, take time to write down the impressions that you get when you write down your thoughts. Then you can check them with His Word.

This is especially important when you first start listening to God, because God will never lead you in any way that's contrary to His Word. On many insights and decisions. It's also good to check them out with a trusted friend who knows the Bible well. 2.

You can actively look for answers and ask for insight on how to apply them. God's Word is essential here. You can look up verses on a specific topic. For example, you can say, just Google in or whatever.

Show me verses about how to deal with difficult people. I did that, and then a collection entitled 99 Verses about Difficult People came up. Here are some of them. Proverbs 15:1.

Just keep quiet. Psalm 37:1 4 fret not yourself because of evildoers.

Be not envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb, trust in the Lord, do good, dwell in the land, and befriend faithfulness. Matthew 7:12 so whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.

For this is the law and and the prophets and finally Galatians 5, 14 and 15 for the whole law is summed up in one word. You will love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you're not consumed by one another.

You see, just if you're wondering how God wants you to act, just look up verses and ask Him.

And if you follow all of those things, for example here on dealing with difficult people, your life will go much smoother once you have a selection of verses, perhaps articles, whatever Some additional advice from Dillard Willard on what to do then with specific Scriptures.

Meditate constantly on God's principles for life as set forth in the Scriptures, always striving to penetrate more deeply into their meaning and into their application for our lives. Meditate in the Christian sense means to think deeply about Ask questions of the text. Pray for insight.

Taking a walk thinking of verses before you go to sleep can be very helpful. Journal some more. Think through how to apply the verses to your specific application.

Ask the Lord for additional insight in how they apply to you and the people you interact with. Spend time simply interacting with God over issues in your life, with any relationship. When you do that, your relationship with your God will deepen.

Will I ever get it wrong if I do this? You might be asking, am I ever just hearing myself?

Yeah, we can go through the motions and being human, we're going to make mistakes sometimes with the best of intentions. We're simply too immature in our faith, too emotional or too blind to do what God wants. Always ask that God protect, intervene, correct you.

Be willing and open to go in a direction you hadn't thought of. If we realize that later we messed up when we were so sure of something, confess your sin, accept forgiveness, and press ahead.

Habakkuk at first thought God was totally wrong in what he was doing, and later realized that God wasn't going to get him out of the situation, but he was going to get him through the situation, which is often how it goes. And we don't want to hear that. What if God doesn't answer? That can happen also. There can be dark nights of the soul.

God did not answer his son when he cried from the cross. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

When that happens, we need to follow the example of what Jesus next, when he followed that cry with these words, father, into your hands I commit my spirit, and resurrection followed as it will one day for us.

A few closing Thoughts Habakkuk obviously had a wonderful conversational relationship with God, and we see it in part in this book, where he moved from confusion and a challenge to a wonderful confidence that no matter what happens happened, God would get him through it. Apparently, so did Dallas Willard.

Not only are his books a blessing, but apparently his life was also a lesson in what it meant to walk closely with conversationally with God. As his friend John Ortberg said, Dallas had such a constant and abiding friendship with God that when he died, he probably didn't notice.

May we all learn to live in that way as we daily grow and live in conversation with our God, so that when the time comes for the Lord to call us home, that'll be the gentle continuation of a conversation we've been having day by day. That's all for now.

Please check out the Show Notes, a complete downloadable transcript, graphics, mention and related materials at www.bible805.com until next time, I'm Yvonne Pryn, your fellow pilgrim, writer and teacher for Jesus, and I'd like to close with this benediction.

May you know the invitation of God to move from confusion to clarity, from wandering to rest, from loneliness to knowing you are loved, from turmoil to peace, from wherever you are in your spiritual journey to a growing knowledge of God's Word and in your personal relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.