When God Seems Absent

CONSIDER THIS

Habakkuk isn’t our usual sort of prophet. Instead of yelling, “Repent!” on every street corner,  he has a raw, unfiltered conversation with God about a broken world, asking: “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen?” God reminds him He is always working, even when it looks like evil is winning. It’s not what he was expecting, so Habakkuk climbs his watchtower to wait. 

God responds with a promise that points straight to Jesus: “The righteous will live by faith.” Centuries later, Paul quotes this verse several times, all to say, “Hey, this is how we are saved by Jesus. We live by faith.”

Look at the cross. It seems like God was silent and evil had won. The only perfect, innocent man to ever live was executed. But God was at work, turning evil into good, using that moment of corruption and unfairness to rescue us.

By the end of the book. Habakkuk sings a song of praise, recognizing even if everything fails and the fields are empty, he rejoices in God his Savior — literally, rejoicing in Jesus.

When life is upside down and confusing, we can be honest with God, wait in our watchtower, and fix our eyes on the cross, where God is not silent — He speaks His love for us loud and clear. No matter what, we are never alone. We can always rejoice in the God of our salvation.