Evil Exists; Nevertheless, GOD IS IN CONTROL!
“Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.
(The Psalms 36: 1-4 NASB)
For it flatters him in his own eyes Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
He plans wickedness upon his bed; He sets himself on a path that is not good; He does not despise evil.”
Wickedness does not need to be invited; it merely exists. God’s steadfast love must not be earned; it is merely given. When we consider these two opposites, a stance that Satan formed in the garden when he chose to deceive Eve and her husband Adam to question God, we are reminded how the devil’s hatred for us exists and will exist until the day Jesus brings us home. Receive the Truth.
- God is in complete control. &
- The evil one secretly desires to usurp God’s authority. &
- We must be on guard—always.
There are times during our lives when we pass through the ‘wilderness,’ when we sense that maybe we’re walking all alone. Maybe we have just received the doctor’s test reports, and it’s not good. Possibly, our spouse has just committed adultery, and our marriage seems broken beyond repair. It could be that we have just lost our weekly income, and financial ruin rages before us. Quite possibly, we have followed Jesus for years, and now we find ourselves deep in the valley of doubt or even caught up in a deep valley of sin. Wherever we walk during this ‘wilderness’ season, there remains a resonating truth.
“The LORD favors those who fear Him,
(The Psalms 147: 11 NASB)
Those who wait for His lovingkindness.”
- Fear. We fear blue lights flashing behind us as we drive.
- Fear. We fear vicious animals standing in our path as we hike.
- Fear. We fear dark spaces, deep ocean spaces, being all alone, and dying.
However, those types of fear are not what the psalmist means when he wrote: “The LORD favors those who fear Him, . . .” because the fear of the LORD means we are in awe of GOD; we recognize His majesty and power; we know His wisdom; and we honor His justice. We fear the LORD for a very specific reason, for we “wait for His lovingkindness.”
There is an opposing side, an opposite, a stance of Satan, one he took when he deceived the first Adam. The ungodly refuses to fear God. In reading the Bible, we are reminded how Satan’s hatred for God’s redeemed ones has always existed, how it will continue to exist until the day Jesus brings us home. See the Truth through a biblical narrative.
In The Acts of the Apostles, we read an account when the apostle Paul was traveling with Silas, and they stopped in Thessalonica. As was his custom, Paul first went to the Jewish synagogue and preached the Good News of Jesus. For three weeks, Paul expounded on the Scriptures, speaking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Bible records in the seventeenth chapter of The Acts of the Apostles, how some were led to receive Jesus, while others chose instead to act wickedly. When they made this choice, these ones “formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them [Paul and Silas] out to the people.” (17: 5b)
The mob, incensed to do evil, were angry when they could not find the missionaries, so their uproar led them to attack a man’s home and to drag an innocent man and others out of his house. That mob, fixated on evil, only sought to devour, to kill, to destroy. We should ask WHY?
Hear their shouts.
“These men who have upset the world have come here also;
(The Acts of the Apostles 17: 6b-7 NASB)
and Jason has welcomed them,
and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar,
saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
- In every instance—GOD IS IN CONTROL!
- When evil rages—GOD IS IN CONTROL!
- When peace comes—GOD IS IN CONTROL!
- When others oppose our witness and testimony—GOD IS IN CONTROL!
- When we are standing for Christ Jesus and quaking in our boots—GOD IS IN CONTROL!
There are situations in our lives when we must walk in obedience, even when we cannot see the future. Yes, there are times during our lives when God is preparing us for the next event, the only future He sees, for God sees our beginning to its end.
- Evil will always exist for Satan opposes GOD.
- Evil will continue for the devil HATES the LORD.
“Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
(The Psalms 36: 1 & 5-7 NASB)
There is no fear of God before his eyes. . . .
[BUT nevertheless, the opposite is also true.]
“Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep.
O LORD, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”