Has God ever answered your prayers in a way that did not make sense to you? The prophet Habakkuk faced that type of situation. As he witnessed the unjustice and saw the unrighteous prosper he cried out to God in frustration:

How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. (Habakkuk 1:2)

God answered Habakkuk’s prayer and told him that he would be astonished. God responded in a way that Habakkuk did not expect:

For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. (Habakkuk 1:6)

This is not the answer that Habakkuk was expecting. How many times has God responded to your prayers in a way that you did not expect? We must realize that God is omniscient. His knowledge is infinite, whereas our knowledge and understanding are limited. There are times in which we must wait for God to reveal an explanation to us. Habakkuk learned to watch and wait for God’s anwer and perspective:

I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. (Habakkuk 2:1)

His faithful waiting was rewarded as God gave Habakkuk a principle that resounds throughout the Bible:

Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)

God contrasted those who are proud with those who are righteous. This verse is stated several times in the New Testament showing that we are saved not by works of righteousness, but by faith. When we walk by faith, we are less susceptible to the vicissitudes of life. As Habakkuk reflected upon God’s message and his current circumstances, he imagined how he would respond in a worst-case scenario: 

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, (Habakkuk 3:17)

Habakkuk painted a bleak picture and in spite of a worst-case scenario, he was able to rise above his circumstances:

Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. (Habakkuk 3:18)

Can you rejoice in God regardless of your circumstances? You may not be able to determine your circumstances, but you can choose your response to your circumstances. God has designed us to walk in victory. Habakkuk concluded his message with a note of praise:

The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.  (Habakkuk 3:19)

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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