Lord, how long will I call and You will not answer?

Zimbabwe: Food is scarce, prices are skyrocketing, fear reigns—and the man behind it all, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, just inaugurated himself to another term of office | a pastor from Harare

The following is a letter written by a pastor in Harare. He has asked to remain unidentified for security reasons.

Zimbabwe, June 2008: Habakkuk asked God two questions at the beginning of his short oracle and in those two questions concealed two accusations. "Lord, how long will I call and You will not hear? How long will I cry and You will not save?" Implicit in the questions is Habakkuk's troubled conclusions: God does not hear and God does not act.

I was led, I believe by the Lord, to begin a few weeks ago a short series on Sunday mornings on the prophecy of Habakkuk. As I sit here in my office writing this short update, I have a sense that we as a church have reached the point that Habakkuk reached. God has brought us to a point in our experience where we ask Him, "Lord, do You hear? Lord, why are You doing nothing?"