BIBLE MEDITATION:
1 John 5:19; "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." ENCOURAGING WORD:
In the church service this week, they conducted a question and answer session. One question that was asked that I really felt they missed the mark is; "If God is such a loving God, why does He allow evil in our world." This question intrigued me to the point that I needed to explain this to the best of my knowledge because this is a question that many are asking today. Let me start out by stating the obvious, God is not the source of any evil that is in our world today. He is a God of love! Let’s go back to the garden of Eden when God created man and woman. The world was a perfect environment with no pain, no sorrow, no natural disasters, no evil of any kind, perfect in every sense of the Word. Then entered the Serpent, or better known to us as Satan. Adam and Eve were told that they could eat of any tree in the Garden of Eden except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, as we read in the following Bible verse.
Genesis 2:17; "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
I also need to read the following Words from the scriptures of Genesis, so you understand why I believe the way I do.
Genesis 3:1-14; “Now the serpent (Satan) was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden"? “ And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. “ Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave it to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Mans first attempt to cover sin) And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He (God) said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Then the man (Adam) said, "The woman (Eve) whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.”
It was then that sin entered the world because man chose to sin instead of obeying Gods command not to eat of the tree of good and evil. It was then that God gave the world over to Satan. All the evil that we see in our world is a result of man’s choice to obey Satan instead of God. God graciously stepped out and let Satan have his way with humanity.
So, All the evil that we see in our world is because of one of two reasons. Let me explain. If you are a true child of God, and have become born-again, trials will be a part of your life. Before I explain the reason I say this, let’s hear what the following Bible verse has to say.
Romans 8:28; “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
What does it say? It says we know, not think, and that all things are working out for good, not some things, but all things! So, if you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and have been Born-Again into the Holy Spirit, then everything that happens in your life is Father filtered and working out for your own good. Here is a promise from God that none of us like to hear, but we need to hear it anyways.
John 16:33; “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
This verse is not describing the Great Tribulation as some may teach, but is letting the true Christians know that life will not always be peaches and cream. You will have trials in your life if you follow Jesus Christ, it’s promised. But as I just read in Romans 8:28, all things are working out for good. All the trials that we go through as Christians, are all geared to bring us closer to an everlasting relationship with Jesus Christ. If everything in our life was perfect, how many people would call out to Jesus for fellowship. Not many. We need to go through certain trials because its then that we call out to Jesus for help! It is also necessary for spiritual growth.
So, if you are Born-Again know this, God is watching over you and He will not give you more than you can handle. It may seem as if it comes close at times, but God will get you through it. Satan can do nothing to you unless God allows Him to test our faith. Such is the case with Job.
We read in Job 1: 8-12” “ And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”
See, God gave Satan permission to bring evil into Job’s life as a test of faith, but notice, Satan had no power over Job until God allowed it. God allowed Job to be put through these trails to show us that we can also be put through trials, but not unless God allows it. God will allow His children to be put through various trials because it is through these trials where we grow in our spiritual walk with Christ. When you read through the Old Testament, there are many stories where God allowed wickedness to come into His servants lives. Every one of those stories are given to us for learning.
Before I get into the second reason for all the evil that is in this world, let me mention this. If you are attending a Mega Church and they are teaching you that you will have peace and prosperity if you believe in Jesus Christ, you are being deceived and lied to on a grand scale. Let me explain why this is so dangerous. If you are told that once you receive Jesus Christ, everything will be great, and then all of a sudden, tribulation enters your life, you will say, I didn’t sign up for this, I want out. You will no longer follow Christianity because you were deceived into believing everything would be great, when in all reality, things in this world will not always be great for the Born-Again believers. You will go through trails and hardships. The trials that we go through will produce Spiritual growth. It is a promised from God.
We read this in James 1: 2-4; “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
If we never get tested, how will we really know how strong our faith is! We will not always understand why we have to go through trials, but when we get to heaven and stand before Jesus Christ, everything that had ever happened to us will become crystal clear and we will say, “I get it”
Now; let me get into the more obvious reason why there is so much evil in our world. This evil that is abounding in our world is not brought about by God. Remember, we kicked God out of our country and that leaves us vulnerable to all the evil that Satan has to spread. God has just given us over to what we wanted, a world without Him. Every bit of evil that comes into the world, comes as a result of what happened in the Garden of Eden. So, know this, the world is going to get more and more evil with every waking day. However, there may be times when we feel like things might be getting better, but if they do, I believe it will be short lived.
The reason that evil seems to be getting worse and worse is because Satan knows his time is coming to an end and he has very little time to destroy as many soul as he can by making us believing all his lies. Side note: (Unless you understand what is really taking place in our world, you will not understand what is coming and you will be deceived). Blindness is overshadowing all those that reject Jesus Christ as we read in the following Bible verse.
2 Corinthians 4:4; “Whose minds the god of this age (Satan)has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
If you are believing all the lies that are permeating throughout our world, then as much as I hate to say it, the Bible verse that I just read is speaking to you. The only way for you to get out from under Satan’s power is to get down on your knees, repent of all you sins and ask the Holy Spirit into your heart. It is then that spiritual blindness will be lifted from you. If you chose to make this commitment, make sure you mean it and it is not just lip-service. God knows what is in your heart and He cannot be fooled.
Now, once you become a true believer, know this, you will still go through trials, but God is with you always and will not allow anything to happen to you that is more than you can handle.
Here are two very encouraging verses for you to remember.
Joshua 1:9; “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Again, this is speaking to believers!
Hebrews 13:5b-6; “…For he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Now I want to share with you something that really disturbs me. Every time a non-believer has something bad happen to him or her, they always blame it on the God that they don’t believe in. If you are a non-believer, then why would you blame the God that you have rejected. He doesn’t have His hedge of protection over you because you chose to keep Him out of your life. If you feel like everything is against you, know this, it is because you have not believed on the only one who can save you from eternity in “The Lake of Burning Fire” which is Jesus Christ. When you serve Satan, a lot of things throughout your life will be evil, because the one that you chose to serve hates you. It’s like having a boss who hates and has complete power over you. Some of you may know exactly what I am talking about. You have nowhere to go for comfort or safety. Satan is your god and has complete control over your life, day and night, every day, not just eight hours a day when you are at work.
Some people who are atheists or just unbelievers may say, “everything is going great for me and I’m not a believer.” Do you know why, it’s because Satan already has your soul, there is no reason for him to attack you. But know this, he still will simply because he hates you. You are already living your heaven here on earth, so enjoy it while it lasts. You never know when life will end for you and if you have chosen to reject Jesus Christ, you will end up in the “Lake of Burning Fire” for all eternity. No more riches for you! I know that you all have most likely heard this before, but here it goes, have to ever seen a U-Haul behind a hurst?
And those that are going through hell on earth because they serve Jesus Christ, upon death, will be ushered into paradise where they will live eternally with Jesus Christ in an environment so nice, that God had this to say,
1 Corinthians 2:9; “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Heaven awaits those that love Jesus and this world in which we live, and know this, what's happening in this world is as bad as it will get for the believer. This is not our home; We are just passing through as the Bible clearly states.
Let me ask you a question and something for you to think about. Why is it that persecution of the Jews and Christians has been such a huge part of our world since the death of Jesus Christ. I’ll tell you why. If you aren’t aware, Satan has a plan. If he can rid the world of all Jews and Christians, then and only then, can he thwart the plan of God, which is his ultimate goal. Do you think the Holocaust was an accident. Not at all, it was Satan’s plan that through Hitler all Jews would be killed. God allowed His chosen people to go through this because of their rejection of Him back when they had Him crucified.
And sadly, you will not hear this truth in any of the mainline denominational churches of today!
Matthew 27:24-25; “When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it. ”And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”
From that point, the Jews put a curse on all their own generations, until they say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” This curse will not be forever, because the Bible said that day will come during the seven year tribulation that is on the near horizon. We read in the following Bible verse.
Luke 13: 34-36; “ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets, and stones them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
If Satan can rid the world of all the Jews, there will be no one to say, “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” And Satan wins.
This has been Satan’s plan from the beginning, but know this, he will not be victorious. He will end up in the "Lake of burning fire" with all those that chose to serve him instead of Jesus. There is no middle ground, believe on Jesus or reject Jesus, two choices, two final designations. Your choice, what will you choose? Time is running out, and when Jesus appears, there will be no second chances. It is over!
So now, when something bad happens to you, know this, it is either because God is using the situation to bring you closer to Him, if you are saved, or it is Satan bringing evil into your life because he hates you. No other reason, its one or the other. God will not allow evil into His children’s life unless it is for spiritual growth. If you are not a child of God, you are at the mercy of the evil one and God will not intervene unless you call out to Him and become a Born-Again Believer. You will be immediately under His hedge of protection if your conversion is sincere. But until then, stop blaming God for all the evil in your life.
So, If you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, don’t blame Him for what Satan does to you. You are either under the control of Satan, or you a are child of God. Nobody can be neutral; it is one or the other.
I hope this answers the question, “Why is there so much evil in our world and why does God allow it?
And now, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
May God bless you in all you do and take care!
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