God’s plan is far more complicated, than you and I could ever imagine. [While writing this, I am going to attempt to do the impossible as I teach on the problem of pain and the problem of evil.] Theologians and philosophers have been asking this question from the very beginning, and there are actually very few answers. But what I have learned over the last few months as I have read countless books on the topic, is that it is actually very complicated. There are things that you do not know about—isn’t that always true when you do not understand something? There is a saying that goes: when you do not understand something, there is more to it than you know, or something like that. It means it is more complicated; there is something you do not know. Habakkuk, there is something you do not know! One thing Habakkuk does not know, is Satan. Many of the Old Testament saints had very little appreciation and understanding of Satan. And even in the New Testament we only have faint references. Who is this person Satan, and why did he fall? If he was created perfect, why did he fall? What led him to make that step in opposition to God?...We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers; against the rulers of the darkness of this world—legions and legions and legions of demonic spirits. That is the universe we live in. Job was completely unaware of the role of Satan. Have you considered my servant, Job? God said to Satan.

God’s plan is far more complicated than you could ever imagine. The way up is often first of all to go down, isn’t it? Think of cancer treatment. It is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better, and I think Habakkuk was learning that lesson. He was being made to learn that lesson, that sometimes things are going get a whole lot worse before they actually get better. But you need to trust me.¹

Derek W. H. Thomas