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.