What do you do when God seems silent about evil?

In Habakkuk 1:1-11, a prophet does something surprising: he complains to God about all the evil around him. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt introduces the book of Habakkuk and a question many believers feel but are afraid to ask.

Habakkuk looked around at his own nation — violence, injustice, and a law that seemed powerless — and cried out, “How long?” Why does a good and all-powerful God tolerate such evil? God’s startling answer is that He is not ignoring it at all: He is raising up the Babylonians as His instrument of judgment, and it will come within Habakkuk’s own lifetime. Dr. Holt’s key reminder is that “when” is not the same as “if” — God’s justice may seem delayed, but it is never canceled.

Questions this study answers:

1. Is it wrong to bring hard questions to God? No. Habakkuk honestly asked God why evil went unpunished, and God answered him. God welcomes the honest cries of His people.

2. What was God’s answer to Habakkuk’s complaint? That He was not ignoring the evil but was already raising up the Babylonians to bring judgment — in a way Habakkuk never expected.

3. Why does God’s justice often seem so slow? Because His timing is not ours. Dr. Holt reminds us that delayed justice is not denied justice; what God has promised, He will surely do.

“Look among the nations and watch — be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.” — Habakkuk 1:5 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Habakkuk Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Why does God let the wicked win?

In Habakkuk 1:12 through 2:20, the prophet asks how a holy God could use a nation even more wicked than his own to carry out judgment. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt walks through God’s answer — and the famous verse that helped spark the Reformation.

Habakkuk accepts that his people need correction, but he is stunned that God would use the cruel Babylonians to do it. God’s reply is to wait and trust: the proud will fall, the vision will surely come, and “the just shall live by his faith.” Dr. Holt explains the comfort hidden in a hard season — it will end, it has a purpose, and God is with you in it. He recalls how this very verse broke through to Martin Luther and changed the course of church history.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why was Habakkuk troubled by God’s answer? Because God planned to discipline Judah using the Babylonians, who were even more wicked. Habakkuk could not see how a holy God could use such a tool.

2. What was God’s answer? To wait in faith. The proud and violent would fall in time, but the righteous would live by trusting God, not by understanding everything.

3. Why is “the just shall live by faith” so important? It is quoted throughout the New Testament and was central to the Reformation. It teaches that we are made right with God by faith, not by our own works.

“Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.” — Habakkuk 2:4 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Habakkuk Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Can you still rejoice when everything falls apart?

In Habakkuk 3:1-19, the prophet ends his book with a prayer of bold, unshakable joy — even though hard times are certain. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt traces Habakkuk’s journey from worry to worship.

Habakkuk began his book anxious and confused, troubled that God would let evil go unpunished. By chapter 3 he has changed — not because his circumstances improved, but because he has remembered who God is. He looks back on God’s mighty acts in the past and finds courage for the future. Dr. Holt also corrects the popular saying “God won’t give you more than you can bear,” explaining that God’s promise is not escape from the valley but His presence in it. Habakkuk’s closing words are some of the most defiant joy in all of Scripture.

Questions this study answers:

1. How did Habakkuk move from worry to worship? By remembering God’s faithful acts in the past, he found peace for the present. His circumstances had not changed, but his focus had.

2. Is it true that “God won’t give you more than you can bear”? Not as people often mean it. God does allow more than we can handle on our own, but He promises to carry us through it with His presence.

3. How can we rejoice in hard times? By resting our joy in God Himself rather than in our circumstances. Habakkuk rejoiced in the Lord even when the harvest failed.

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines … yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” — Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Habakkuk Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.