Habakkuk is full of questions for God. He asks them with much passion. Habakkuk 1:2 contains the first question, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” The book of Job, possibly the oldest book in the bible, deals with the issue of bad things happening to good people and how to wrestle with that issue. It has always been a problem. In 2022 you cannot watch the news or read a newspaper without hearing about bad things, violence, happening to innocent people. We are frustrated with our justice system that has let us down. Every human being will wrestle with the problem of evil in the world. The problem is we usually do it after the fact. When we see violence and injustice in the world we will ask “Why did God allow such a thing to happen?” There will be no rational answer to that question in the middle of the suffering. No one can think straight during great pain. The time to reflect deeply on the existence of evil in the world is before it overtakes us. God’s truth works best as preventative medicine. It should be seen more as a proper diet, exercise, and vitamins, rather than radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other drugs taken to cure the disease once acquired. The person who is well grounded in God’s truth is much more likely to be able to bear up under suffering than the one unprepared. The truth is suffering is going to come to each of us in one way or another, at one time or another. Many people in the world have had their Covid vaccinations. The are supposed to make the disease, if we get it, less serious. With the vaccine we can fight off the negative effects much better.

The Bible presents us with an all-powerful and all-loving God.  Therefore, we like to expect God to prevent all evil and stop all suffering. But He doesn’t. Our emotions then drive us to think that God has abandoned us. We must be charged with the truth of scripture. We must arm ourselves for such battles with the Sword of the Spirit which is God’s word. The Word tells us clearly that God loves us, and He has our best interest foremost in mind regardless of our circumstances. Isn’t this what saving faith is all about? But, in the midst of our suffering, that’s a hard pill to swallow.

All the Prophets make it clear that righteousness is not an issue of religious ritual. It’s an issue of relationship. We must trust God amidst it all. God wants us to trust Him totally with our future. He is in charge, and nothing has reached us, like what reached Job, without his permission. And like he brought about redemption with Job in the end, He will bring about our salvation as well. He has promised to deal with evil and we must trust Him to do so in His time. Here is a great vitamin for today. Matthew 10:29-31 says, “But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”