This is week one of a four week series titled “Habakkuk: A Prophet for 2025.” View the rest of the series as it’s published by clicking on the Habakkuk 2025 Prophet tag.
How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?
Habakkuk 1:2
When my church’s Bible Study group asked me to lead a summer discussion on a minor prophet, I put very little thought into it, and I chose Habakkuk at random. Yet, in my preparation and our group discussion, I have been shocked by how relevant Habakkuk feels for 2025. I have found myself drawn to this little-known prophet and his faithful questions, meditating on his words to hear some Good News for today. Over the next three weeks, I will share my reflections on Habakkuk in the hope that they might be useful for your personal study, sermon preparation, or group conversation. May you find solace in Habakkuk’s assurance that God can hold all our questions, especially the big ones.
Background
Scholars estimate that the Book of Habakkuk was written sometime in the late 7th century or early 6th century BCE. The text does not refer to any specific king, which makes dating difficult. I wonder if the author (or editor) intentionally made the text timeless, knowing that the questions raised speak beyond one particular moment. The Book of Habakkuk points to larger truths about human nature and God’s activity in the world.
The Essenes at Qumran, a 2nd century Jewish sect who lived along the Dead Sea, certainly seemed to think so as well. One of the earliest Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 was a commentary on Habakkuk, written by a community struggling under Roman rule. They saw their own story mirrored in Habakkuk’s laments, and they clung to the same conclusion: “the righteous shall live by faith” (2:4).
Centuries later, Habakkuk’s questions are still enduring: Where is God in a world full of cruelty? Where is God’s justice when leaders fail, and the powerful exploit the weak? Like Habakkuk, we often find ourselves watching and waiting for God to move, to speak, to act.
And, perhaps, also like Habakkuk, we will discover the Good News that God is where God has always been– present with God’s people, still sowing seeds of justice that will one day bear fruit.
Habakkuk 1:1-4 – Habakkuk Lodges His Complaint
When I announced our Bible study topic, someone asked me, “Who or what is Habakkuk?” That’s a fair question. For a prophet, we know surprisingly little about him. There is no backstory, no dramatic call narrative, no proud family lineage. Habakkuk is simply introduced as a prophet, a spokesperson for God (1:1). And yet, it is not God who speaks first, but Habakkuk.
The Book of Habakkuk begins with a complaint. Life isn’t fair. The world isn’t right. People are just awful. Sound familiar?
But Habakkuk’s complaint is more than simple cynicism. It is the faithful practice of lament. He names what he sees– the violence, the corruption, the silence of leaders– and he refuses to accept that this is “just the way things are.” Habakkuk believes in a different way, and so he brings his grief and anger directly to God. He wants to know what God has planned, what God is going to do about all this mess.
Habakkuk 1:1-4 invites us to join in on the lament, being honest about the pain in the world and not covering it up with nice platitudes. What would it look like if our churches reclaimed this sacred practice of lament? So much lament already pours out online in comment sections and social media posts, people raging at their screens. But what if our congregations were known as safe, judgment-free spaces where people could voice their grief, their outrage, their heartbreak, and be met with solidarity and prayer?
When I read Habakkuk, I am reminded of Psalm 13. Like Habakkuk, the psalmist begins by crying out, “How long?” How long will injustice prevail? How long will God feel absent? But the psalm ends with stubborn trust: “I will sing to the Lord, because God has dealt bountifully with me” (perhaps foreshadowing where Habakkuk is headed).
That is the paradox of lament. We cry out precisely because we trust. We trust that God is as outraged as we are by injustice. We trust that God mourns the degradation of the earth. We trust that God is near to those who are afraid. We trust that God takes sides with the vulnerable.
Lament is not a weakness of faith; it is the evidence of faith. It is the courage to hold God accountable to God’s own promises.
Application to 2025
Habakkuk may be a “minor” prophet, but his voice is anything but small. His questions echo ours: How long? Why this injustice? Where is God in the chaos? And his witness offers us a way forward– not by giving easy answers, but by insisting that God is present even still, and that faith means continuing to wrestle, question, cry out, and hope.
In 2025, with wars raging, communities fractured, and creation groaning, Habakkuk invites us not to look away, but to lament. He calls us to hold our grief before God with honesty and trust. And in doing so, he assures us that God is still here, still listening, still calling us to live by faith. Through our laments, may we find ourselves drawn deeper into God’s justice, presence, and stubborn, enduring love.
Reflection Questions
- What laments do we have for God?
- Do we take time to lament in our personal prayer practice? What does it look like? What shape does it take?
- How can we include lament in our corporate worship?
Prayer Practice: Lament
God, it doesn’t take much for us to feel overwhelmed at the chaos in the world. We see it so clearly, feel it so dearly. In our families, churches, and communities, we bemoan injustice, poor leadership, and a lack of accountability. Our hearts are weary… (continue in lament).
Joining with Habakkuk out, we cry, “How long?” How long will the oppressors win? How long will apathy reign? How long will your people twist your words? Draw close to us, Lord. Hear our cries. Weep with us. We trust that you are always near, and we especially need to feel your presence with us today. Amen.
