Experiencing God

Hey all, have a blessed Lord’s day. And here’s a little reflection from one who’s been, well, wondering and waiting.

The last two sermons at church have been from Habakkuk. Last week’s was from chapter 1.

2O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.

Part of the sermon addressed an argument about the presence of evil. It went something like this: If God is omnipotent then He can destroy evil, but there is evil. So, God must not be good. And if God is good then He would destroy evil, but there is evil. So He must not be omnipotent.

It seems to me that the concern about evil and perverted justice, and the argument itself even, reflects common experience–of believers and unbelievers. And while the faithful can say that God is good and that evil will be destroyed, are unbelievers justly dubious of God’s goodness and omnipotence? is that rational? Shouldn’t common experience with our own evil and weakness leave us all with the fear of judgment by a holy God? Doesn’t anyone making an argument about the existence of evil concede a knowledge of it?

Thank God we experience his grace rather than his immediate judgment.