Most of us have been mesmerized by the pictures we’ve seen of our earth taken from space. Those pictures from space reveal the beautiful oceans, the various continents, the perfectly round shape of the earth, as well as the clouds and weather we can see developing on earth. It looks like the most beautiful place in the galaxy. The earth from those pictures looks peaceful, clean, and calm. Those pictures of our world are nothing but majestic.
Yet, while the earth looks so beautiful when you are tens of thousands of miles away, those of us that live on earth don’t see the same beauty. When we live on earth we live in the midst of a different world. When we live on earth we see dust blown up by the wind, violence among animals, pollution from creation, injustice by humans, sadness in our communities, and we see suffering.
In the midst of this we often ask God: Do you know what’s going on? When will you intervene? Why don’t you do something? If you are good why do you allow pain, suffering, and evil?
The Old Testament book of Habakkuk was written 2600 years ago (in 607 BC), yet it deals with a modern problem and common questions we all experience. The book of Habakkuk answers our questions because Habakkuk was asking the same questions then that we ask now. Thankfully, we don’t just read about Habakkuk’s questions, we read about God’s answers.
For the next several weeks I plan to share a series of articles from the book of Habakkuk. I encourage you to read this book and familiarize yourself with it before we discuss it together in these weekly updates. It’s only three chapters and I think you will find the book insightful and relevant.
In her book, Trembling Faith, Taylor Turkington writes, “Habakkuk does something different–he invites us into his conversation with God, like we’re sitting in on his prayer meeting. We have a front-row seat to Habakkuk’s wrestling, listening, bravery, and gritty faith.”[1]
As you read the book of Habakkuk here are some questions to ponder:
How would you summarize this book in one sentence?
What themes or topics do you see mentioned in each chapter?
If you had to give a title or heading to each chapter, what would they be?
May the Lord bless you as you do your own inductive study of His Word.
[1] Taylor Turkington, Trembling Faith: How a Distressed Prophet Helps Us Trust God in a Chaotic World (Brentwood, TN: B&H, 2023), 15–16.