WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Visualise a picture of the earth from space. Imagine it safely in God’s hands. As you open God’s Word, remember that the earth is the Lord’s – and everything in it. Questions and doubts Habakkuk was scandalised by the state of his country. Everywhere he looked, he saw violence, conflict and injustice. He had apparently been praying about it for a long time (v 2). And he couldn’t understand why God wasn’t doing anything. It was an intense test of Habakkuk’s faith. It made him question the very heart of what he believed. How could God be good and allow such evil to flourish? Unexpected answer to prayer At first, Habakkuk seemed reluctant to face up to the situation (v 3), but it was too bad to ignore. Then to his astonishment God made matters worse by sending an even more violent and godless nation to sort out the Israelites. It was an answer to prayer, but clearly not the one Habakkuk had been expecting. The Babylonians were an example of a nation whose people had turned their backs on God. When men and women of any place or time ignore the restraining principles of love, goodness and self-sacrifice, they set off on a slippery slope towards idolatrous arrogance. Everyone gives in to every evil and selfish impulse, and no one is ashamed in the slightest – just like the Babylonians. Respond: Has an item of local or national news particularly affected you recently? When you pray about it, what do you sense God’s response to be? Should you keep praying? http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-08-27