When God Doesn'T Make Sense — E.A. Johnston

When God's Providence Seems Incomprehensible

There are times in our lives when God doesn't make sense, at least to our limited understanding of his providence. If it were up to us, we would fix the problem somehow, one way or another. But God's ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts.

And although we may not understand the reasons for the present trial and suffering in our life, we can believe by faith that, no matter how unaccountable our circumstances become, we can rest in the knowledge that Almighty God the Father has our best interests at heart.

Dear friend, you may be going through one of the toughest battles of your life. You may be in the depths of the deepest grief you've ever known. You may be in the most trying trial you've ever encountered, and you don't know how to get out of it.

Habakkuk's Prayer in a Season of Barrenness

But if you give me your attention as you listen to this message, friend, even though I may not be able to tell you how to get out of your present circumstance, I can tell you how to live in it. There is a passage in my Bible which I often turn to as it brings me comfort when I need comforting and reassurance when I need my faith strengthened.

Hopefully it can do the same for you. If you will, friends, turn in your Bibles to the Old Testament, to the Minor Prophets, to the Book of Habakkuk. The title of my message today is, When God Doesn't Make Sense, and my text can be found in Habakkuk chapter 3 and in verses 17 through 19.

Let me read us this striking passage of scripture at this time. Listen to the prophet as he pours out his heart to God in prayer in his season of barrenness. Here now is the word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of his holy word.

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the folding. There shall be no herd in the stalls.

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. I will stop there.

The Losses Described in Habakkuk's Prayer

I want to break this passage down, friends, and apply it like healing medicine to our lives. There are several aspects of what the prophet says in this prayer of faith in his season of barrenness. First, he speaks of how his hopes are not realized.

The fig tree has not blossomed. He looked for something, and it never came. He's living with disappointment. Secondly, he speaks how hardship is endured. The labor of the olive fails. He's like the disciples, tolling all night and catching nothing.

Nothing seems to be going his way, and all forces seem to be in opposition to him. Have you ever had a day like that, friend, when everything and everyone seems to be against you? Well, that's where this man was.

Next, Habakkuk speaks of the aspect of how the heaviness of an outward trowel is encountered. The fields yield no meat. All seems in vain. Hunger sets in. The weight of his burdens are heavy upon him.

Next, he speaks of the terrible grief of loss. The flock shall be cut off from the fold. The little lambs he once held in his arms are no more. It seems every turn he makes, it results in more loss. And lastly, he laments of the great emptiness that engulfs him.

When he talks about there's no herd in the stalls, his bank account is overdrawn, and heaven seems like a closed door, for his prayers for deliverance seem to bounce right back on his bewildered and beleaguered head.

The Lord Remains in His Holy Temple

But he knows what he wrote back in chapter 2 and verse 20. But the Lord is in his holy temple. He knows that God is still on the throne and that God will take care of his own. This hope allows him to do something that goes against all human reason.

When a person is let down and disappointed because God hasn't shown up and you are hurting like you've been kicked in your stomach, a normal reaction is to question God, argue with God, or even lament that God has somehow let you down.

Rejoicing Despite Unanswered Circumstances

But this man of God, this prophet, hangs all his emotions and hopes in one big word. That one big word is the word yet. Despite all these things, yet, I will rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation.

Despite all the black clouds and heartache and disappointment, he will yet not only rejoice in the Lord in accepting his sovereignty, his providence, he will also joy in his salvation and God, he will acknowledge the God of all creation and joy in him and the hope of tomorrow.

Finding Joy in God During Affliction

I'd been pretty down lately and was heavy with the weight of the world on my shoulders as my stalls were clean empty and all seemed hopeless and I was looking down at the ground and scratching my head and I looked up at the sky and it was early morning and I saw a glorious sunrise and I stared at it and as I looked at that sunrise I acknowledged my God and my creator, I found joy in my God and tears began to stream down my face as I thanked him for that sunrise while I thanked him for my salvation while I thanked him for another opportunity to serve him and live for him and hope in him.

And do you know what happened when I did that, friend? Why, I had joy, joy in my God. It put sweetness in my empty cup. When your stalls are empty and when your afflictions are many and when your pain and grief is heavy, look up and find joy in your God.

Trusting God's Love When Deliverance Delays

I knew someone who was in a jam and God didn't show up in a deliverance and this person felt that God had let them down and they took their eyes off God and took their own life. Listen, friend, don't believe the devil when he whispers in your ear that God doesn't give one hoot about you, that God doesn't care and that God has forgotten you and that he doesn't love you.

That's a lie straight from the pit of hell and it's got smoke all over it. God loves you, friend, and God loved you enough to send his only beloved son to suffer and die on a bloody cross for you. Look away from your troubles and look up to the God of your salvation and joy in him.

I promise you it will make a difference and it will get you through while you wait on him because the Lord is in his holy temple. Like I said earlier, I can't tell you how to get out of your difficult situation, but I can tell you how to live in it.

Well, I hope this message has helped you and that you'll find grace to get through when God doesn't make sense. Let us pray.