Ask the Hard Questions

Have you ever been going through a time of hard questions when a well-meaning Christian tossed out a platitude like, “God won’t give you more than you can bear,” or “When God closes one door, another one opens,” or, my most-decidedly-unhelpful favorite, “A Bible that’s falling apart belongs to someone who isn’t”?

Instead of being comforted by these thoughts, I am angered.

Platitudes don’t help when we are hurting or angry or alone. When I have hard questions, I want to ask them—of people and of God.

Good news, friends! We can ask God. He can take our hard questions, our tears, our sorrow, and yes, even our anger. In fact, he wants more than anything for us to be honest with him.

In the oft-overlooked Old Testament book of Habakkuk, we find just such a person asking God hard questions:

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
But you do not listen!
“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
but you do not come to save.
Must I forever see these evil deeds?
Why must I watch all this misery?
Wherever I look,
I see destruction and violence.
I am surrounded by people
who love to argue and fight. (Hab. 1:2-3 NLT)

The prophet Habakkuk was watching the Babylonian army gaining strength, massing at the border, and preparing to take Israel in a vicious battle. He was crying out to God, asking those soul-wrenching questions. God replies that he sees the Babylonians, he knows they are fierce and violent, and he assures Habakkuk,

“Look around at the nations;
look and be amazed!
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it.” (Hab. 1:5 NLT)

But Habakkuk is not satisfied. He doesn’t feel that God has heard all his fears and anxieties and anger. He pours it all out, mincing no words:

“O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—
surely you do not plan to wipe us out?…
Are we only fish to be caught and killed?
Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?
Must we be strung up on their hooks
and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?” (Hab. 1:12, 14-15 NLT)

It doesn’t seem right, does it? Those words seem so strong to be a prayer. Prayers should be soft and kind—or so we were taught. I love Habakkuk’s raw emotion. He is laying his heart bare before the Lord.

My favorite verse comes when Habakkuk has exhausted himself before the Lord. He sums up his rant by saying,

“I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he will answer my complaint.” (Hab. 2:1 NLT)

The faith Habakkuk has in God is an example to us all. He knows God will not fail, but he doesn’t know how God will save. So he will climb his watchtower; he will watch and wait for God to do what only God can do. Habakkuk’s faith makes me want to build my own watchtower. I want to be watching for what God will do!

God answers Habakkuk in chapter 2:

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.
This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.” (Hab. 2:2-3 NLT)

God’s words for Habakkuk are also words for us. God’s answer may not come on our timetable, but it will come. It will not be delayed. We are to tell everyone—the vision will be fulfilled.

We, like Habakkuk, can ask God hard questions. We can cry out in our anguish, and we will not be turned away. His vision for us may not look like our vision, but it will surely take place.

The book of Habakkuk ends with his proclaiming his faith in God.

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.” (Hab. 3:17-19 NLT)

Even if, dear God, I will still praise. Even if, I will have joy. Even if the worst happens, I will find my strength in the God of my salvation.

These promises were true for Habakkuk and the people of Israel, and they are true for you and me.

Even when I have hard questions, I will rejoice.

Annie Carlson is rooted like a turnip to the plains of North Dakota where she raises great food, large numbers of farm animals, and three free-range kids with her husband. You can find her with either a book or knitting needles in her hands as she dreams up her next adventure.