City Life Starter

Written by PJ Thomas

The Word

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NIV)

“But pleasure, money, power and safety, are all as far as they go, good things; the badness consists of pursuing them by the wrong method, or the wrong way, or too much.”

“The problem is not simple, and the answer is not going to be simple either. What is the problem: A universe that contains much that is obviously bad and apparently meaningless, but containing creatures like ourselves who know that it is bad and meaningless. There are only two views that face all the facts. One is the Christian view, that this a good world that has gone wrong, but still retains the memory of what it ought to have been. “

C.S. Lewis, Book 2 Chapter 2, Mere Christianity

Exegesis

Many agnostics say “If god is all good, then he is not all powerful because there is evil. But if God is all powerful, then he can’t be all good due to evil.” How could a good God let us suffer? Isn’t suffering evil?

C.S. Lewis invites us to take a different look at badness (evil), and, by proxy, suffering. He notes, “badness is only spoiled goodness, and there must be something good first, before it can be spoiled.” God is good. Suffering often occurs because humans pursue good things in a corrupted way. Corruption happens when the value of the good thing is placed above relationship with God. Suffering then often follows.

The prophet Habakkuk lived during a time of suffering. He lamented that Israel was full of destruction, violence, and corrupt leaders who did not follow God’s law. God’s response is that the righteous should live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Habakkuk’s book of the bible highlights his struggle to believe that God is good when evil was so evident in the world. His response is in line with God’s declaration.  Habakkuk 3:17-18 highlights the culmination of his prayer to God about this suffering. His response during suffering and evil is to choose to praise God by faith.

Application

As John Piper would say, through Jesus Christ, we have access to the greatest good/pleasure/worth; we have access to God himself. As the prophet Habakkuk proclaimed during a time of intense suffering, we can be joyful in God. By aligning ourselves with the reality of God we acknowledge and partake in a “reality” more real, more eternal, than our present sufferings.

Prayer

Lord, help me to find my greatest pleasure in you. Help me to refocus my desires on your presence and kingdom, and trust that you will provide the greatest good for me as I seek you.