A MAN QUESTIONS GOD - 11.01.2026

Devotional

Day 1: How Long, Lord? Wrestling with God’s Silence in Chaos

Habakkuk’s raw cry echoes our own: violence thrives, justice falters, and God seems absent. His questions aren’t theoretical—they’re born from watching his own people spiral into corruption. The prophet’s anguish mirrors our frustration when evil appears unchecked. Yet his decision to voice his pain to God, rather than turn away, becomes a model for holy lament. Faith begins not in answers, but in the courage to bring our doubts to the One who can bear them. [24:11]

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help? You do not listen! Violence is everywhere! I cry for help, but you do not come. I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel God’s silence most acutely today? How might Habakkuk’s example of bringing raw honesty to God shift your prayers this week?

Day 2: God’s Unseen Work: Trusting the Unbelievable in Dark Times

God’s answer stuns Habakkuk: He’s already mobilizing a ruthless nation to judge Judah. The solution feels worse than the problem. Yet God insists His ways transcend human logic—He works through even corrupt systems to purify His people. This jars our desire for tidy resolutions, inviting us to trust that His “unbelievable” methods hold purpose beyond our sight. Sovereignty isn’t about comfort, but about God’s relentless commitment to redeem. [26:35]

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.” (Habakkuk 1:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: When has God’s response to your prayers unsettled you? How can you lean into trust when His ways feel jarring or unclear?

Day 3: Feet Like Hinds’ Feet: Standing Firm When the Earth Shakes

Habakkuk’s body trembles at Babylon’s coming invasion—yet his soul finds footing. Like a deer scaling cliffs, he chooses praise amid barrenness: no crops, no flocks, only God. This isn’t denial, but defiance against despair. Faith isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the decision to anchor in God’s character when circumstances scream chaos. Our high places aren’t mountaintop triumphs, but daily choices to exalt Him while shaking. [31:50]

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19, ESV)

Reflection: What “barren place” in your life needs this defiant joy? How can you practice praising God not for, but in, the struggle today?

Day 4: Idols That Cannot Answer: Confronting Modern Babylon’s Empty Promises

Babylon’s gods were wood and stone; ours are screens, status, and self-sufficiency. Habakkuk mocks those who bow to lifeless idols—today’s equivalents promise control but deliver slavery. The prophet’s warning cuts through our culture’s obsession with image crafting and instant gratification. True power lies not in curating our kingdom, but in silent awe before the God who needs no instructions from us. [39:48]

“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:18-20, ESV)

Reflection: What modern “idol” subtly demands your allegiance? How does silence before God expose its emptiness?

Day 5: Touching the Hem: When Belief Becomes Action in the Crush of Life

Like the bleeding woman pushing through the crowd, faith moves toward Jesus despite shame, doubt, or risk. Habakkuk’s journey from complaint to confidence mirrors her shift from desperation to declaration. True faith isn’t passive agreement—it’s reaching hands, rewritten prayers, and feet walking high places. God honors not just what we believe, but how we live that belief in the press of everyday battles. [43:39]

“For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” (Mark 5:28, 34, ESV)

Reflection: What “reach” is God asking of you today—a conversation, a surrender, a step of obedience? How will you act on belief, not just assent?

Sermon Summary

Habakkuk sees violence, ignored law, and justice turned upside down among God’s own people. His question is plain: Why does God let this keep happening? God answers that he is raising up Babylon to judge Judah and turn his people back. But that answer brings another question. How can a holy God use a nation even more wicked than the people it will conquer?

God’s answer does not excuse Babylon. Its hunger for power, unjust gain, cruelty, drunkenness, and idolatry will bring judgment upon it too. God can use a corrupt kingdom without approving its evil, and no nation escapes his accountability. His appointed time will come. Until then, “the righteous will live by his faith.”

Habakkuk’s closing prayer shows what that faith looks like. His body trembles at the trouble ahead, but his confidence in God holds firm. Even if the crops fail and the stalls stand empty, God remains his salvation and strength. Faith does not make the coming distress harmless. It means trusting that God has not abandoned his people when distress arrives.

That same faith refuses to make peace with the wickedness around it. Unjust gain, sexual immorality, drunkenness, and making oneself into a god must not become normal simply because the culture accepts them. Believers are called to reject the sin without treating the sinner with disgust, remembering the life from which they themselves were rescued.

Faith also goes beyond knowing the right answers. Abraham believed God, and the woman who touched Jesus’ garment acted on what she believed. Worship, spiritual growth, speaking the truth, helping struggling Christians, and repentance all put trust into practice. Habakkuk’s confidence rests neither on comfortable circumstances nor on the behavior of other people, but on God’s promises. The righteous stand firm by believing those promises and doing what God requires.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s judgment never excuses human evil. God’s use of Babylon does not mean that Babylon’s cruelty has become righteous. The same nation appointed to correct Judah remains accountable for its unjust gain, violence, and idolatry. Faith can trust God’s rule without calling evil good or assuming that strength proves his approval. [33:30]
2. Trembling bodies can still trust God. Habakkuk’s physical fear does not disappear when he learns to trust God. His body trembles, yet he knows that the coming invasion does not mean God has abandoned him. Strong faith is not the absence of fear, but confidence in God’s promises while the body still feels the weight of trouble. [35:59]
3. Familiar sin must not become normal. Constant exposure to wickedness can make what once seemed shocking feel ordinary. Habakkuk’s grief challenges believers to examine whether cultural acceptance has softened their own resistance to sin. That resistance must remain directed against the sin rather than becoming contempt for people who need the same rescue believers have received. [40:28]
4. Faith acts on what God says. The woman who reached for Jesus’ garment did more than recognize that he could heal her. Her belief moved her to act, and Jesus identified her faith as the reason she was made well. In the same way, knowing the need for worship, growth, repentance, and care for others cannot replace actually doing those things. [43:10]
5. God remains faithful when people fail. Habakkuk cannot build his confidence on the conduct of Judah or the restraint of Babylon. Both can act wickedly, but neither can cancel what God has said. A believer’s faith must rest in God himself rather than rise and fall with the behavior of God’s people or the threats of the world. [47:08]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:11] - Why Does God Allow Wickedness?
[25:20] - Habakkuk’s Complaint Against Judah
[26:35] - God Raises Up Babylon
[27:42] - How Can God Use Wicked People?
[29:24] - The Righteous Will Live by Faith
[31:20] - Rejoicing When Everything Fails
[33:48] - Five Woes Against Babylon
[35:14] - Trust Beyond Fear and Empty Religion
[37:22] - Refusing to Normalize Sin
[42:20] - Faith Requires Trust and Action
[45:58] - Habakkuk’s Changed Confidence
[48:17] - Resisting Spiritual Captivity
[49:25] - Standing Firm Despite Danger

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Habakkuk 2:4
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” [29:43]

Habakkuk 3:17-18
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” [31:37]

Mark 5:28
“For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” [43:02]

Observation questions

What contrast does Habakkuk 2:4 draw between the proud person and the righteous person? How does Babylon’s hunger for power illustrate that contrast? [33:06]
In Habakkuk 3:17–18, what sources of food and livelihood does Habakkuk describe losing? What does he still choose to do when those things are gone? [31:37]
What signs of physical fear appear in Habakkuk’s closing prayer, and what confidence in God remains alongside that fear? [35:59]
In the account surrounding Mark 5:28, what did the woman believe about Jesus, and what action followed her belief? [43:02]

Interpretation questions

How does God’s judgment against Babylon help explain why trusting his rule does not mean approving the actions of powerful people or nations? [33:37]
How does Habakkuk’s willingness to rejoice amid devastating loss help explain what living by faith means in Habakkuk 2:4? What is his confidence resting on? [35:03]
Why is Habakkuk’s trembling not proof that his faith has failed? What is the difference between trusting God through trouble and expecting faith to prevent trouble? [47:37]
How does the woman’s response to Jesus illustrate the difference between knowing something about him and acting in trust? How does that distinction help explain the call to live by faith? [43:20]

Application questions

What trouble are you facing that brings real fear, even though you believe God is faithful? What would trusting him look like in that situation without pretending you are unafraid? [35:59]
Habakkuk’s confidence remained when his sources of security were stripped away. Which part of your security—income, health, relationships, or something else—is hardest to entrust to God? What could help you turn toward him if that security were shaken? [46:24]
Are there sins that have begun to seem harmless to you because they are common in entertainment, at work, or among friends? What is one change you could make to resist becoming comfortable with them? [40:28]
Rejecting sin must not become contempt for people. In a relationship where you struggle with someone’s choices, how could you show genuine care without calling those choices good? How might remembering your own need for grace shape your response? [40:53]
Where is there a gap between something you know God calls you to do and what you are actually doing—perhaps worship, spiritual growth, speaking truth, or repentance? What small, concrete step could you take this week? [43:49]
Is there someone in your church family who is struggling and could use your support? What could you offer this week? If you are the one struggling, what would help you ask someone for support? [44:28]
When has another Christian’s behavior shaken your confidence in God? What might help you keep your faith rooted in God’s character and promises while honestly addressing the hurt or wrongdoing? [47:17]

Sermon Clips

27s

#TrustGod

“And now as he kinda closes it, his body may fear. He may tremble when the time comes, when Babylon shows up, but he knows that's not the end for him. He's not gonna give in. He's he's gonna know that God has kept his promise, that God told me this is gonna happen, and he told me what to do about it. He didn't abandon me.”

35s

#LiveByFaith

“And of course, within that response, he's gonna tell him the righteous shall live by his faith. Tell Habakkuk, be patient. Trust God that all these things, that God will not be late, they're gonna fall. But also that God, he can use these corrupt kingdoms to do his will, but that doesn't mean he's endorsing the evil itself, that that evil that they have done will bring their end, that God holds all nations accountable.”

35s

#ObedienceMatters

“So when we when we don't do the right thing when we know to do it, that's an issue with our faith. But are we truly living righteous lives and having the faith that God demands if we just decide not to do the things he's asked us to do? So knowing the answers, obviously, we know... That won't get us to heaven. You know? Is knowing part of it? Definitely. God wants you to know the things that he has for you, but knowing is not enough.”

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Kensington Woods church of Christ This sermon · AI assistant

How can God use wicked nations without endorsing evil?

What sustains faith when circumstances collapse?

How does obedience reveal the reality of faith?