There’s a famous line in C. S. Lewis’s children’s classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Susan asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan, the great lion, is safe. Mr. Beaver responds, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” Today’s passage reminds us that the Lord isn’t safe, if by “safe” we mean cute, cuddly, and powerless, but He most certainly is good.

Verses 8–10 describe God’s creation of the world in a way that depicts God as a warrior. The prophet asks if the Lord was “angry with the rivers” and whether His “wrath [was] against the streams” (v. 8). He says that the Lord “uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers; the mountains saw you and writhed” (vv. 9–10). After describing the Warrior-God’s creation of the world, Habakkuk transitions to describe God’s power on His people’s behalf. The Creator—who is not to be trifled with—“came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one” (v. 13). In doing so, the Lord “crushed the leader of the land of wickedness” and “stripped him from head to foot” (v. 13). When it seemed that all was lost and the enemy nation was going to destroy God’s people, the Lord “trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters” (v. 15).

Habakkuk may very well have been asking the same question Susan asked while he communed with the Creator of all things. Is this God safe? Well, of course He isn’t. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that this description of the Lord is terrifying. However, we also know that God is good, that He does rescue His people from injustice and oppression, and He does not allow evil and wickedness to continue forever.

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