Wrestling With God
August 2025
A reflection from the Grace Harbor Women’s Bible Study in Habakkuk
By: Lauren Aaron-Grace Harbor Church Member
What does it mean to wrestle with God? Is it acceptable to wrestle with Him? Can you wrestle with God and still trust Him?
While these questions may make us uncomfortable, Habakkuk addresses them head-on. Often, we turn to Psalms, Job, or Philippians in suffering. But Habakkuk offers us a unique perspective of suffering and uncertainty. The book was written around 600BC, after the reign of Josiah, but before the Babylonians came to power. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians, and evil was flourishing in Judah. The book of Habakkuk begins with the prophet in distress over the evil occurring in Judah, and he invites us into his wrestling with God.
Habakkuk cries out: “How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence, and you do not save? Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?” (Habakkuk 1:2-3a). You can probably relate to his frustration towards the world & the sin around him. How often in our daily lives do we think “God, why do you tolerate wrongdoing?” While at first glance, these questions seem to be questioning God, Habakkuk is teaching us – from the very beginning – the importance of taking our honest anguish to the Lord.
My personal wrestling match with God began in 2014, when my brother was diagnosed with cancer. I didn’t know what to make of the new reality I was living in, and I found myself wondering: was this diagnosis within the sovereignty of God? And if He was sovereign, how could He be good? These questions were immediately followed by guilt and shame – who was I to question God? Shouldn’t I simply trust him?
But that was much easier said than done; it’s hard to trust a God who is sovereign if we question His goodness. I am grateful for older, stronger believers who gave me the comfort we see in Habakkuk: take your questions to God – He can handle them. He is not scared of your wonder, and He is bigger than your doubts. One of the most important things that was said to me was this:
“It’s okay to wrestle with God. Jacob wrestled with God – literally. Even Jesus wrestled with God’s will in the Garden. When you think about wrestling, it’s extremely intimate. So, wrestling with God is going to be some of the most intimate moments you have with Him. You can wrestle with God all you want; just remember: He’s going to win every single time, and that’s a good thing.”
What a blessing to serve God who cares about my struggles – who not only tolerates my doubts but patiently works them out in me, bringing me closer to Him.
So, when does wrestling become problematic? If 1 Corinthians 10: 9-10 tells us to not grumble or put the Lord to the test, how does this line up with Habakkuk’s questions? How do we know that our doubts are not teetering into unbelief?
Habakkuk walks us through the differences in grumbling & lament – in doubt & unbelief – in his discourse with God. After Habakkuk’s questions in chapter 1, God responds, saying that He will judge Judah – through the Babylonians (1:6). Though this alarmed Habakkuk, he did not run. He simply came back to God with more questions.
While grumblings & laments both start with a wrestling match, lament enters the ring with the understanding that God is trustworthy and faithful. And while doubt and unbelief both begin with struggling to understand God’s will, the key difference lies in the attitude of the believer. Doubt ultimately yields to God, trusting that He knows better. In contrast, unbelief refuses to trust God, challenging His authority and character; this is dangerous. But, when done well, our doubts & struggles can both sanctify us and glorify God.
God never gave Habakkuk a reason, but He did give him a revelation about His character. And Habakkuk trusted in what he knew to be true about the God he served. When it is hard to trust in God’s faithfulness in our present circumstances, Habakkuk teaches us to look back at the ways God has been faithful. He recalls Egypt, the Exodus, the Red Sea, and more. This book that began with despondence ends with praise: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord: I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
Like Habakkuk, we may not always get the answer we expect or desire, but amidst our frustration, we can reflect on the times God has been faithful in our lives. The longer I am a Christian, the more I understand the importance of storing up these moments of faithfulness. Because when we know God is working, we can wait on Him in faith. When we believe in His character, we can trust him, even when we don’t understand Him. Waiting is a challenge to our faith. But be assured: we are not waiting on a God who is unkind or unknown. We are waiting on a God who is sovereign, certain, and good. He is a loving Father who welcomes our wonder, our questions, and our fears with love and patience. In scripture, we see that humbly asking God questions and wrestling with His will is okay. When our desire is to grow in our understanding of His character, wrestling can actually strengthen our faith muscles and make submitting to His will easier over time.
I praise God that he took my moment of wrestling and used it to grow my faith. How gracious that through Habakkuk, He has given us a blueprint to cry out to God for when we struggle with our circumstances and His will. When we encounter trials in this life, let us look to Habakkuk’s example and run to God with our questions, wrestle with the answers, and humbly submit to His will, for He is a loving God who is sovereign over all, and He can be trusted.
