Discover The Word

IDEA: Devout people are sometimes almost overwhelmed by doubt. TEXT: “The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw. ‘O Lord, how long shall I cry and you will not hear? Even cry out to you “Violence!” and you will not save. Why do you show me iniquity and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds’ ” (Habakkuk 1:1-4).

PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate that doubt arises when what we believe about God and know about life do not seem to match.

Have you ever known anyone who was afflicted with doubt? What kind of person was it? Where did they come from?

I. We can understand why bad people would want to doubt God, but what happens when good people doubt God?

It makes sense that a person living in an immoral or illegal life would want to doubt God and His judgment, just as they would like to believe that they will never get caught.

But serious doubt is often entertained by people who are serious believers.

II. Habakkuk was a devout man, a prophet in Judah, who wrestled with doubt.

The prophets were devout but they were not easy on God. They were as hard on God as they were on themselves. For them God wasn’t a piece of cut-glass that needed to be protected.

Sometimes devout people are afraid to speak about their doubts, or are uncomfortable when other people speak of them. Why?

Habakkuk was deeply troubled by the evil in his society. What troubled him most was not the evil itself, but that God seemed to be blind to it (1:1-4).

III. As you read this passage, what caused this devout prophet to doubt God?

What do you gather that the prophet believed about God?

What was going on in his society that upset him?

What was the source of his doubt? God seemed to be doing nothing.

IV. Does the prophet’s question have any application to the 21st century?