Habakkuk 2:3
“For still the vision awaits the appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.”
Habakkuk’s second complaint prompted this response from Yahweh (1:12-17). In essence, Habakkuk was complaining, “Where are You in the midst of all this evil I am witnessing?” All of us—believers and unbelievers alike—think we are uniquely challenging God when we ask this question to Him and His followers, “Where is God in the midst of suffering?” This is not a new question; this is an ancient question, and a question God has already answered. Yet it is not the answer we want.
God has given the vision to His prophets the judgement against the wicked—against evil and all evildoers—is surely coming. Yet for Habakkuk—and even for us today—it seems as if God’s promise to deal with evil is not coming. Yet God answers, “I have not lied in My promise. It will come. It might seem slow, but wait for it; it will surely come. I am not delaying My promise.”
That is not the answer we want, but it is the answer God has given. Our response to this answer—and to God’s supposed indifference—is to throw a tantrum. We become angry with God because we are spoiled brats, thinking we are entitled to whatever we want, especially in our day with all the technology we have to grant us instant gratification. When we demand God deal with evil in our timing, and He does not oblige, we throw a tantrum like a snot-nosed toddler when we don’t get our way.
The proper response is to wait and to repent for thinking we know better than God. Fathers send their spoiled children to their rooms in their tantrums as punishment. So, go to your room… and pray.
Pray!
For that is all you can do. All your whining, complaining, and blaming God cannot move Him to do anything. Therefore, pray. Pray for your brothers and sisters and your fellow man who are suffering; pray for your own suffering, too. For as God promises our daily bread, He also promises to deliver us from evil in the meantime until He finally comes to destroy all evil.
If you don’t believe me, then find the evidence upon the cross, upon which Christ took all the evil every human being has done and will ever do upon Himself and suffered God’s wrath for it on your behalf. Christ has already done away with evil; we merely have to wait for our ultimate deliverance from it when He returns in His glory to harvest the earth (Revelation 14:14-20).
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