One of the most popular questions we face concerns the issue of evil in light of God’s goodness. If God is so good, perfectly good, then why does He still allow evil? Why am I personally hurt and crushed by the evil of others? These are big questions, especially for those who have experienced great pain and tragedy in this present world. I have to admit, I have pondered this question personally many times. Even though I know and believe what the Bible teaches, my emotions can get the best of me.
When our son Eddie went into a coma in 2013, we faced evil almost daily, face to face, eye to eye. It was brutal, quite frankly. It was the type of evil that I don’t even know how we survived. Sometimes grief is made more complicated by the direct evil of others. I wish I didn’t have to warn of this, but I do, because it’s true. We live it daily, personally. Evil exists.
How did we survive, you ask? By the grace of God. Truly. His grace met us there. We experienced a small example of what Paul wrote concerning his thorn in the flesh.
2 Corinthians 12:7 (NKJV) “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
Now, when we ask, “If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil?” we need to understand that the question starts with a flawed premise. The question itself implies that we are in a position to say what is good and what is not good about God. We ourselves do not know what is good by nature, for we are not basically good. How then can we judge God?
Isaiah 55:8–9 (NKJV) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Still, the question of evil persists, and we often hear the question “why?” in the aftermath of ongoing tragedies. Remember, when God created the world, He created it perfect. That includes His creation of man. Yet, this “perfect” man was also given the freedom of choice, or the ability to choose. When Adam chose to disobey God, sin, death, and suffering became an inevitable part of life. Romans 5:12 states, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (NLT). The evil in this world is a result of that original sin.
You may say, “Wait a minute, I didn’t choose to sin. Adam did.” Yet, the Bible teaches that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. We have a natural bent toward doing what is wrong. James 4:1 says that there is a “whole army of evil desires at war within you.” At the same time, God gave us absolutes to live our lives by–standards that are found in the Bible. When we make choices that are contrary to those absolutes and standards, evil is the result.
C. S. Lewis put this question in proper perspective. He observed that it is idle for us to speculate about the origin of evil. The problem we all face is the fact of evil. The only solution to the fact of evil is God’s solution, Jesus Christ . Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you enter into the master plan that God has for you. For that reason, you can be assured of the promise in His Word, that “everything works together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). Sometimes what appears horribly evil and tragic can result in something good. Consider Joseph’s assessment of his brother’s wicked act of selling him into slavery. Understanding that God had allowed this to happen so that he could be a man of power in Egypt, Joseph said, “God turned to good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 NLT).
We may not always understand the “whys” of a certain tragedy, but we know the “Who” that will carry us through it. He promises, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord your God . . .” (Isaiah 43:2-3a NIV).
Some of us have to live with the presence of evil every single moment of every single day. I’m sorry. I wish you didn’t have to live that way. But I assure you that the grace of God will become more real to you each day you survive, not each day you thrive in Him.
#onedaylittleguy
3 Truths About the Goodness of God
