Habakkuk for the Holidays

At First Glance

I don’t know any baby boys named after this prophet. I’ve met Isaiah’s, Jeremiah’s, and even a Zechariah, but never a Habakkuk.

Habakkuk seems more like a word invented by a desperate Scrabble player: random, obscure letters, all in a line. It doesn’t really make sense. 

When life itself doesn’t make sense, Habakkuk speaks. His opening lines to God are essentially,  “Are you not paying attention? If you could really hear and save, you should have intervened by now.” and “Why are you so passive? If your Word is truly powerful, it should change things for your people.” His experience in life is not confirming what God says; in fact, it’s threatening what Habakkuk thinks about God. Sound familiar?

I relate to this conflicted prophet, holding God at arm’s length when circumstances seem to say something irreconcilable with what I know about God. I’m all about making sense of things when life feels like an unusual assortment of Scrabble letters, and when I can’t, I resort to questions like his.  

But his name might actually be a clue into how to respond when life is disorienting. According to The Bible Knowledge Commentary, the name Habakkuk could be related to the Hebrew word embrace. 

Throughout the 3-chapter conversation he has with God, he illustrates embracing God’s character, though not understanding God’s ways; he’s an example of fully embracing his observations and not letting go of truth. And the link that wraps its arms around the paradox of life is faith. The righteous live by faith, not by what they see. Habakkuk, trembling about what God reveals by the end of the book, rejoices by faith in the God who holds him in a steady embrace.

If your holidays are filled with celebrating in spite of ongoing tensions; singing praises about Christ’s birth with unanswered prayers like untied ribbon in your heart; anticipating God’s guidance in the new year, while still unsettled about what that will mean for you, you are embracing the experience of Habakkuk for the holidays.
May the God of your salvation and the Lord who is your strength give you the same joy Habakkuk found in Him.