What is God up to?
See this as Habakkuk’s response. Even with everything collapsing round his ears he finds consolation in the thought that at least God will not die. So he must surely be up to something even if we can’t see it. This is the moment when we reassure ourselves with phrases such as 'I suppose it will all come right in the end’, or, ‘perhaps we have to be patient’, or even, ‘God knows best.’ Unfortunately, for Habakkuk, it doesn’t wash.
Habakkuk knows all the right phrases and they may all be true. He knows that justice will triumph in the end, that evil brings its own punishment, just as goodness brings its own rewards (v 12). But what is eating him up is his sense of urgency. Why not now? And what about all the damage being done in the meantime? He is worried that humanity can be brought so low (v !4), finds it humiliating that wicked people are allowed to get away with so much (vv 15-16) and feels they just mustn’t be allowed to get away with it for ever (v 17).
But notice how in these verses the focus shifts from Habakkuk to others. From the plaintiff’s anger and frustration to the victims — especially the innocent caught in the crossfire. So what started as an academic question (how long can it be tolerated?) has become a positive concern for those who are hostages to an axis of power.
It is still more a cry of despair than of hope. It changes nothing and this time next week, next month or next year he may be back where he started. But the new focus fortifies his conviction that if God really has something up his sleeve, even though he continues to play his cards close to his chest, Habakkuk must stay in there with him. It reinforces his motivation.
Sadly, not everyone can stand the waiting. Some people will pile on the pressure to do something. They can’t understand how Habakkuk sticks it and at times he even wonders himself. But for now the victims and those at the heart of the struggle must come first.