I am not sure why I am tackling this topic today. This is one for the “heads’ we used to call them at Christian college. Those were the theology students who spent their time pondering deep theological concepts. My focus was always more pragmatic—how can we live out our faith in a way that makes us more mentally healthy. But since how we live intersects with evil in today’s world, I guess I will ponder this topic a bit myself.
We know from God’s Word that we are a mess and in great need of a Savior. Man is not basically good, although he is capable of great good. In Ecclesiastes 7:29, wise Solomon states, “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.” If all of ya’ll were always good, I could single-handedly prove that true with my self-absorbed behavior.
God’s Word also states that He loves us with an unquenchable love—He loves us the way we are and way too much to let us stay that way. But if God loves us perfectly and He is a perfect God—Where does evil come from? Those far wiser have addressed this far better, but this is my meager observation.
In loving us perfectly, God gave us free choice—we could choose to follow Him or choose to follow our own selfish desires. Evil comes when I want what you have, so I take it. If it’s your stuff, that’s called stealing. If it’s your husband, it’s called adultery. If it’s your country, we call it war. Simply put, evil comes from you and me when we choose to follow our own sinful nature rather than surrender to the Spirit’s leading in our lives.
God gave us all free choice, even the angels. Satan and one-third of the heavenly host chose evil. He set that in motion, and since misery loves company, he’s been gunning for you and me ever since, doing his best to get us to choose evil so we will be as miserable as he is.
But we believe in a God who takes a personal interest in us and intervenes in our lives. Since He has the power to intervene, why does He allow evil to be visited upon innocent people?
We’ve all wondered that, haven’t we?
Why is there so much suffering? Why is this bad thing happening to me, to my loved one? They didn’t do anything to deserve this. We wonder about the gentle church secretary, who never looked at a cigarette, and now has emphysema from living in LA for years. The senior pastor who played hand ball on his lunch hour and had the heart of a twenty-year-old but dies from prostate cancer. The baby who never had time to do anything wrong is still born with life-threatening heart problems. Sometimes we want to say, “Lord, you said you wouldn’t give me more than I can handle. I think you better take inventory!”
You gotta hear me on this. God does intervene. And He does love us perfectly. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. So if bad things are happening to you that are not of your making—it’s because God trusts you with them. He trusts that the situation will make you BETTER not BITTER. He trusts that you will remain faithful. He trusts that you will use it to bring others to Him.
You may not trust you. Your palms are sweaty, and your heart is pounding. You’re convinced you don’t have what it takes to get through this. But the Creator of the universe is persuaded otherwise. And Hebrews tells us that our trials will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace in us if we allow it. (Hebrews 12:11, Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11). And the Lord will walk with us through every trial. (Isaiah 41:10, Deuteronomy 31:8, Matthew 28:20).
In the powerful words of Max Lucado:
“In the book of Mark, we see an agonizing, straining Jesus. We see a ‘man of sorrows’ (Isaiah 53:3 NASB). We see a man struggling with fear, wrestling with commitments, and yearning for relief.
“We see Jesus in the fog of a broken heart.”
“The next time the fog finds you, remember Jesus in the Garden. The next time you think that no one understands or cares, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark and pay a visit to Gethsemane. And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to him pleading among the twisted trees.”
“The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention.”
“It may be the closest you’ll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.”
No Wonder They Call Him Savior
Praying for you as you find peace and purpose in pain.