How long, LORD, must I call for help
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violence
and you do not save?
Habakkuk 1:2
“No cheeses for us meeces!”
The Mice Muppets, The Muppet Christmas Carol
Every Christmas Eve, we settle down to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s a brilliant, Christmassy story of redemption, with catchy musical numbers, and some incredible lines that get stuck in your head. The story, as first written by Mr Dickens, has an underlying theme of the social injustice of the Victorian era. Scrooge is a wealthy, but greedy businessman, the Cratchit family are hard workers, but poverty stricken. In the brilliant way that only the Muppets could portray, even the wee mice are affected by this injustice, suffering from a lack of cheese.
The prophet Habakkuk also struggled with the ongoing sin and injustices around him in his day. He was so overwhelmed with the state of society around him that he felt ignored by the Lord. He cried out in prayer but saw no immediate answers and no change.
How long, Lord, must I call for help
and you do not listen…
Habakkuk 1:2
We’re not told how long Habakkuk had been struggling and praying, but when we begin to listen in on his prayers in Habakkuk 1, he’s already been praying for a long time.
God then responds, by telling Habakkuk that he was at work, and it would be unbelievable. God was bringing judgement by bringing the merciless Babylonians to trample Israel. The first answer Habakkuk gets is essentially ‘It’s about to get worse…’
Habakkuk wrestles, ‘How can a pure and holy God tolerate this treacherous, godless nation?’ But he resolved to watch and wait to see what would happen.
God responded again, telling him to write notes down clearly so the message could be shared and understood.
‘Look, his ego is inflated;
He is without integrity.
But the righteous one will live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4
Life would come for those who would trust the Lord, and those who arrogantly opposed him would face judgement. This would include the Babylonians eventually, but firstly the Israelites. God went on to describe the judgement that would come on the Babylonians.
Habakkuk is reminded who the Lord is, and all he has done, and then despite his fears and dread about what lay ahead, he resolves to find joy in his God, even if the worst should happen and his nation faces complete devastation. (Hab 3:16-19)
‘Long lay the world, in sin and error pining’
O Holy Night
The injustice of Victorian society was nothing new, and it’s still here in the world today. We don’t have to look far to see greed and selfishness on one side, or poverty and pain on the other.
Christians around the world face the particular injustice of persecution. This year, over 7000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria, not to mention the many churches and Christian schools that have been destroyed there.
On a more local level, we may feel weary in our own battle with sin and pain, and may feel like God isn’t delivering us from evil as he should.
It may look like God is doing nothing about these things.
It may feel like our prayers are ignored.
But God is sovereign, he is at work, he has a plan, and he will bring justice.
Jesus suffered the greatest injustice and the greatest sin. The holy Son of Man was murdered by godless brutes. Yet, in that greatest injustice, the greatest justice also took place as he bore God’s wrath and provided the perfect sacrifice for sin.
Emmanuel is still at work through time and history, and though we may and fail to see his ways, he will never ignore his people who cry out in prayer.
Rejoice!
Written by Pete Bell
A thought to remember: Emmanuel may seem inactive, but he is at work.
A bit more to read: Habakkuk 1-3
A question to ask: What sin or injustice makes you doubt the Lord’s presence?
A song to sing: O Holy Night
For Reference: Open Doors