Godchaser Podcast
Join Evan Evans on The God Chaser Podcast, a weekly exploration of faith, spirituality, and personal growth centered on Jesus Christ. Evan, a devoted believer and captivating host guides listeners through engaging conversations and thought-provoking discussions that deepen their understanding of Christ and His teachings.
We delve into topics such as Christ's teachings, the power of prayer, the role of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of community in spiritual growth. The God Chaser Podcast aims to inspire and challenge listeners, equipping them with the tools and insights needed to live a more fulfilling, Christ-centered life.
Whether you're a seasoned believer or just beginning your faith journey, The God Chaser Podcast with Evan Evans supports and nourishes your spiritual growth. Subscribe to Apple Podcasts and join us each week as we chase after the heart of Jesus, embracing the transformative power of His love and grace.
Godchaser Podcast
Faith in the Face of Confusion: Habakkuk's Journey from Doubt to Trust
Have you ever looked at the world around you—the suffering, the injustice, the evil that seems to flourish—and questioned why God isn't doing something? You're not alone. The prophet Habakkuk asked these same raw, honest questions thousands of years ago, and his journey from frustration to profound trust offers life-changing wisdom for us today.
Habakkuk stands apart from other prophetic books, beginning not with God's message to the prophet, but with the prophet's urgent questions to God. "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?" This wasn't casual curiosity but spiritual anguish from a man who couldn't reconcile God's holiness with His apparent inaction in the face of rampant corruption and violence in Judah around 605 BC.
What makes this ancient text so relevant is Habakkuk's authenticity. He didn't pretend to understand God's methods or timing. He wrestled, questioned, and complained—but crucially, did so while remaining in relationship with God. This teaches us something profound: bringing honest questions to God isn't faithless; it's deeply faithful. Jesus himself modeled this on the cross when he cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
God's response to Habakkuk creates even more questions than answers. Yes, He will judge Judah's corruption, but by using the even more corrupt Babylonians! This paradox points us directly to the cross, where God used the greatest injustice in history—the execution of His innocent Son—to accomplish our salvation.
The heart of Habakkuk's message comes in the declaration that "the righteous will live by faith"—a statement so foundational that Paul quotes it three times in the New Testament to explain salvation through Christ. Faith—not perfect understanding or religious performance—is how we enter right relationship with God.
Habakkuk's journey culminates in one of Scripture's most powerful statements of trust: "Though the fig tree does not bud...yet I will rejoice in the Lord." This isn't denial or forced positivity but choosing to trust God's character when we can't trace His hand.
Whether you're currently questioning God's ways or walking alongside someone who is, this episode will help you bring your honest questions to God, wait actively for His response, and choose joy even when circumstances don't make sense. Join us as we discover why faith isn't the absence of questions, but the presence of trust amid unanswered questions.
Keep chasing after God
I'm your host, evan Evans. Have you ever looked at the world around you and asked God why aren't you doing something about this? Maybe it's the suffering of innocent people, corruption that goes unpunished, or evil that seems to flourish while good struggles? If these questions resonate with you, today's episode is for you. We're exploring the book of Habakkuk, a prophet who didn't just politely request God's guidance, but boldly questioned his ways. In just three short chapters, habakkuk takes us on a journey from frustrated questioning to profound trust, showing us what authentic faith looks like when life doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1:What makes Habakkuk so relatable is his honesty. He doesn't pretend to understand God's methods or timing. He wrestles, he questions, he complains, but he does so while remaining in relationship with God. In today's episode, we'll discover why bringing our honest questions to God is an act of faith. Not doubt how God's answers sometimes create more questions than they solve, what it means to wait actively for God's response, how Habakkuk's central message the righteous will live by faith finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. And the secret to Habakkuk's remarkable conclusion. Though everything fails, yet, I will rejoice in the Lord. Whether you're currently questioning God's ways or walking alongside someone who is, habakkuk offers profound wisdom for the journey.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the God Chaser podcast, the ultimate destination for those yearning to cultivate a passionate, intimate relationship with God. Join your host, Evan Evans, as he explores the depths of scripture, shares inspiring testimonies and provides practical guidance to help you become a true God chaser, Discover the transformative power of pursuing God's presence and be inspired to reignite your spiritual journey. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts and get ready to embark on an adventure that will change your life forever. Welcome to the God Chaser podcast. Let the chase begin.
Speaker 1:Back God Chasers, I'm your host, evan Evans. Last week we explored Nahum's powerful prophecy about God's judgment against Nineveh and what it teaches us about divine justice. Today we're diving into one of the most honest and relatable books in the Bible Habakkuk. If you've ever questioned God's ways, wondered why he seems inactive in the face of evil or struggled to trust him when circumstances make no sense, habakkuk is the prophet for you. His short book records a raw, authentic conversation with God that leads to one of the most powerful statements of faith in all of scripture and, as we'll see, his journey points us directly to Jesus Christ. Unlike most prophetic books that begin with God speaking to the prophet, habakkuk opens with the prophet speaking to God, and not in reverent, measured tones, but with urgent, challenging questions. Chapter 1, verses 2 to 4, sets the tone. How long, lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen, or cry out to you? Violence, but you do not save. Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. There is strife and conflict abounds. Therefore, the law is paralyzed and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous so that justice is perverted. This isn't mild curiosity. It's spiritual anguish.
Speaker 1:Habakkuk ministered around 605 BC, when Judah was corrupt from within. The powerful exploited the weak, violence filled the streets and religious leaders failed to uphold God's law. Habakkuk saw all this and couldn't understand why God wasn't acting to clean up his own people. Have you felt this way? Perhaps watching the news fills you with a similar cry God, how can you let this happen? Why aren't you doing something? Maybe it's global crises like war, genocide or human trafficking. Or perhaps it's closer to home corruption in your workplace, injustice in your community or unaddressed abuse in churches. Like Habakkuk, you've prayed, but heaven seems silent.
Speaker 1:Habakkuk shows us that bringing our honest questions to God isn't faithless. It's deeply faithful. He didn't doubt God's existence. He questioned God's apparent inaction. There's a world of difference between skeptical questioning that rejects God and faithful questioning that wrestles with him. Jesus himself modeled this kind of honest questioning on the cross when he cried out my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew, chapter 27, verse 46. He was quoting Psalm 22, showing that expressing spiritual anguish can be an act of faith. Not doubt. If you're in a season of hard questions, know that you're in good company with both Habakkuk and Jesus. God doesn't reject those who honestly wrestle with his ways.
Speaker 1:God's response to Habakkuk's complaint is shocking. In Habakkuk, chapter 1, verses 5 to 6, god says nations and watch and be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. God is answering Habakkuk's prayer, but not in the way the prophet expected. Yes, god will judge Judah's corruption and violence, but he'll use the even more violent and corrupt Babylonians as his instrument of judgment. This response creates an even bigger question for Habakkuk.
Speaker 1:In chapter 1, verses 13, he asks your eyes are too pure to look on evil. You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why, then, do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? In essence, god, how can you use people worse than us to punish us? That makes no sense. It seems like evil is winning either way.
Speaker 1:Have you ever received an answer from God that created more questions than it solved? Perhaps a prayer was answered, but in a way that seemed worse than the original problem. Maybe you prayed for a resolution in a relationship, only to have it end entirely. Or you prayed for direction, only to be led into greater uncertainty. This part of Habakkuk's story teaches us something crucial God's answers don't always satisfy our human logic. His ways truly are higher than our ways. Isaiah, chapter 55, verse 9.
Speaker 1:Jesus demonstrated this repeatedly, often giving answers that confused even his closest followers. When the rich young ruler asked how to inherit eternal life, jesus told him to sell everything, an answer that sent the man away. Sad Mark, chapter 10, verses 17 to 22. When people asked by what authority Jesus taught, he responded with a question about John's baptism rather than a direct answer. Matthew, chapter 21, verses 23 to 27. His ways of working rarely matched people's expectations.
Speaker 1:The challenging truth is that God's answer to human evil often looks different than we'd prefer. We want immediate intervention. God sometimes works through historical processes. We want clear separation of good and evil. God sometimes uses broken instruments to accomplish his purposes.
Speaker 1:After his second complaint, habakkuk does something profound. In chapter 2, verse 1, he says I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Habakkuk doesn't storm off in frustration. He doesn't give up on God. Instead, he positions himself to listen.
Speaker 1:The image of standing on the watchtower suggests patient alertness, watching, waiting, staying engaged. This models a crucial spiritual discipline remaining in relationship with God even when his ways confuse us. It's the discipline of active waiting, something many of us struggle with in our instant gratification culture. Jesus taught this same principle in the parable of the persistent widow in Luke, chapter 18. The widow kept coming to the unjust judge until she received justice. Jesus concluded in verse 7,. Received justice. Jesus concluded in verse 7,. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? Habakkuk shows us that questioning God isn't the problem. Walking away is True.
Speaker 1:Faith is persistent even when understanding is incomplete. God's response comes in Habakkuk, chapter 2, verses 2 to 4. Then the Lord replied write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it, for the revelation awaits an appointed time. It speaks of the end and will not prove false, though it linger. Wait for it, it will certainly come and will not delay. See, the enemy is puffed up. His desires are not upright, but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.
Speaker 1:The last part of this response the righteous person will live by his faithfulness is one of the most significant statements in Scripture. It's quoted three times in the New Testament Romans, chapter 1, verse 17,. Galatians, chapter 3, verse 11, and Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 38. As a foundation for understanding salvation by faith, paul specifically connects this verse to Jesus. In Romans, chapter 1, verses 16 to 17. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith, from first to last. Just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. Jesus fulfilled Habakkuk's prophecy by making faith, not perfect understanding or religious performance, the pathway to right relationship with God. When we trust Christ, even without having all our questions answered, we're walking the path Habakkuk discovered.
Speaker 1:After this foundational truth, god continues his response with five woes against the Babylonians. Habakkuk, chapter 2, verses 6 to 19. These pronouncements assure Habakkuk that the Babylonians won't escape judgment either. Their violence, greed, exploitation and idolatry will eventually bring them down. This reveals an important principle God may use ungodly nations or people for his purposes, but that doesn't mean he approves of their evil or that they'll escape accountability. He works within human history and free will, sometimes allowing evil temporary room to operate within his larger purposes.
Speaker 1:We see this most clearly at the cross, as Peter declared in Acts, chapter 2, verse 23. This man, jesus, was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and for knowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death. By nailing him to the cross, god used the wickedness of human beings to accomplish the greatest good our salvation. The religious leaders who plotted against Jesus, the crowd that demanded his crucifixion, pilate who sentenced him and the soldiers who executed him all acted freely, according to their own evil desires. Yet God worked through their evil choices to fulfill his redemptive plan. This doesn't mean God approved of their actions or that they escaped responsibility. As Jesus said regarding his betrayer in Matthew 26, verse 24, the Son of man will go, just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the son of man. It would be better for him if he had not been born.
Speaker 1:God's message to Habakkuk culminates in chapter 2, verse 20. The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him. This reminds the prophet that, despite appearances, god remains sovereign. The chaos on earth doesn't reflect chaos in heaven. God still rules from his temple, unhindered and unmoved by human rebellion. Jesus demonstrated this same calm sovereignty when standing before Pilate, a man who thought he held the power of life and death. Jesus calmly stated in John, chapter 19, verse 11, you would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Even facing crucifixion, jesus remained securely aware of God's sovereign purposes.
Speaker 1:The most remarkable part of this book comes in chapter 3. After all his questions and complaints, after hearing God's challenging answers, habakkuk concludes with a prayer that rises to passionate praise. Chapter 3, verse 2, begins Lord, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, lord, repeat them in our day, in our time. Make them known In wrath. Remember mercy. He then recounts God's mighty acts in history, particularly the exodus from Egypt and conquest of Canaan. He describes God's power over nature, his victory over enemies and his faithfulness to his people. He's reminding himself of who God is and what God has done. This practice of remembering God's past faithfulness as a foundation for present trust is exactly what Jesus instituted in communion. In Luke, chapter 22, verse 19,. Jesus said this is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Each time we take communion, we remember Christ's sacrifice as the basis for trusting him with our present and future.
Speaker 1:The most powerful part of Habakkuk's prayer comes at the end. After all his questioning, all his struggle, the prophet makes an astounding declaration of faith in chapter 3, verses 17 to 19. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God, my Savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to tread on the heights. This is faith at its purest, not dependent on circumstances, not requiring explanations, not demanding immediate intervention. Habakkuk declares that, even if everything falls apart, even if God's answers don't come as expected, even if suffering continues, he will trust and rejoice in God. Jesus modeled this same faith in Gethsemane. In Luke, chapter 22, verses 42 to 44,. Facing the horror of crucifixion, he prayed Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. Even sweating blood in his anguish, jesus submitted to the Father's plan, trusting his wisdom and love.
Speaker 1:Let's explore several specific ways Habakkuk points to and finds fulfillment in Jesus. First, through the central theme of living by faith. Chapter 2, verse 4, declares that the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. Jesus established faith as the foundation of right relationship with God. In John, chapter 3, verse 16, he said For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Faith in Christ Not perfect understanding, not religious performance, not having all our questions answered is how we receive salvation.
Speaker 1:This fundamental truth, first articulated in Habakkuk, finds its perfect fulfillment in Jesus. Second, through honest questioning within faithful relationship. Both Habakkuk and Jesus asked hard questions of God without breaking relationship. Habakkuk cried, jesus cried. Both show us that questioning God can be an expression of faith rather than its opposite. Third, through the paradox of God working through suffering. Habakkuk struggled to understand how God could use the wicked Babylonians for his purposes. The cross presents an even greater paradox God using the most unjust act in history, the execution of the innocent Son of God, to accomplish salvation, as Isaiah prophesied in chapter 53, verse 10,. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. Fourth, through the ultimate triumph of God's purposes. Habakkuk concludes with confidence that, though circumstances fail, god remains faithful. Jesus demonstrated this ultimate triumph through his resurrection. What looked like defeat on Friday became victory on Sunday morning.
Speaker 1:How can we apply Habakkuk's message to our lives today? First, bring your honest questions to God. Habakkuk didn't pretend to understand or approve of God's ways. He wrestled, questioned and complained, but he did so directly to God, not about God to others. Jesus invites this same honest relationship, telling us to ask, seek and knock.
Speaker 1:Matthew 7, verse 7. Is there something you don't understand about God's ways? A situation where his timing seems all wrong, a prayer that seems unanswered? Bring your raw, unfiltered questions directly to him. He's big enough to handle your honesty. Second, wait actively for God's responses. After questioning, habakkuk positioned himself to listen. I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. Chapter 2, verse 1. Jesus often withdrew to quiet places to commune with the Father Luke chapter 5, verse 16.
Speaker 1:Active waiting means continuing in prayer, staying in God's word and remaining in community with His people, even when answers aren't immediately clear. It means living in the tension between honest questions and continuing trust. Third, remember God's faithfulness. In the past, habakkuk recounted God's mighty deeds in history. To strengthen his faith in the present, jesus established communion as a regular remembrance of his sacrifice. For similar reasons, when facing uncertain circumstances, recall specific ways. God has been faithful to you in the past. What prayers has he answered? What difficult situations has he brought you through? Use these memories as fuel for present faith. Fourth, choose faith independent of circumstances.
Speaker 1:Habakkuk's declaration in chapter 3, verses 17 to 19, that he would rejoice in God even if everything fails models faith at its most mature. Jesus displayed this same faith, submitting to the Father's will, even when it led to the cross. This doesn't mean denying pain or forcing artificial happiness. It means choosing to trust God's character when we can't trace His hand. It means believing that, as Paul writes in Romans 8, verse 28, in all things, god works for the good of those who love Him.
Speaker 1:Fifth, find strength in God for life's high places. Habakkuk concludes with the beautiful image of God giving him feet, like the feet of a deer, to tread on the heights Chapter 3, verse 19. This suggests that faith doesn't just help us survive the valleys, but enables us to navigate life's most challenging elevations. Jesus promised in John, chapter 10, verse 10, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Faith in Christ doesn't just save us from death. It empowers us for abundant life, even in difficult circumstances.
Speaker 1:Friends, what makes Habakkuk's message so powerful is its honesty about the struggle to trust God when life doesn't make sense. There's no sugarcoating here, no simplistic answers, no denial of the tension between God's goodness and the world's pain. Habakkuk discovers something profound that faith is not the absence of questions, but the presence of trust even in the midst of unanswered questions. Jesus doesn't promise to answer all our questions in this life, as he told his disciples in John, chapter 16, verse 12, I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. Some understanding must wait for eternity, but he does promise to be with us always Matthew, chapter 28, verse 20. And to give us peace that transcends understanding. Philippians, chapter 4, verse 7. If you're in a season of hard questions and confusing circumstances, you're walking the path Habakkuk walked. Don't be afraid of the questions, but don't let them pull you away from God either. Bring them honestly to him. Wait for his response. Remember his faithfulness. Choose trust even when understanding fails, and receive his strength for the journey.
Speaker 1:Next week, we'll explore the prophet Zephaniah and his powerful message about the day of the Lord. Until then, this is Evan Evans, reminding you to keep chasing God's heart. When life doesn't make sense, remember Habakkuk's declaration. Doesn't make sense. Remember Habakkuk's declaration. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God, my Savior. This has been the God Chaser Podcast. Join us next week as we continue finding Jesus in every story of the Bible. This has been the God Chaser podcast. Join us next week as we continue finding Jesus in every story of the Bible. This episode of the God Chaser podcast is proudly sponsored by God Chaser Apparel, the clothing line designed to empower and inspire your spiritual journey.
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Speaker 1:May you not just chase God but find him in the blessings, big and small, that he has in store for you. And there we have it, folks. Another episode of God Chaser wrapped up. We hope you've been blessed by today's discussion and we look forward to diving into more life-transforming topics with you in the future. Stay blessed and keep chasing after God, thank you.