God Did It…for His Glory

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13 (ESV)

It is now about 3:30 AM, and I was awakened at 2:30. Has that kind of thing ever happened to you? Learning many years ago to take advantage of the opportunities that God gives me is very important, because that moment in time may never come again…most likely will not. And the same is true for each of us. But here is the deal….

I read this most ludicrous statement the other day, “Evil is the absence of God just as darkness is the absence of light.” That statement might have some justification if it were true. But because it is not true makes it wrong. The problem is that when that statement is made the Bible becomes false because the Bible proclaims the presence of the Almighty in everything that takes place….everything. Remember that everything happens to bring honor to His Name. Even evil brings honor to Him because God is triumphant over the presence of evil…that being Satan.

“The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” Proverbs 16:4 (ESV)

Before you go nuts over what I have just said, remember that God’s Word is the final authority for faith and practice of the Christian life, and if the Bible does not express the premise, the premise is absolutely wrong and is not justifiable.

Remember that when Moses was preparing to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt that God first told Moses to tell the Pharaoh that he was being sent by the “I AM”. Well, the Pharaoh did not listen and God hardened his heart and they were swallowed up by the Red Sea….would we not consider that act an act of evil?? And if my memory serves me correctly, the story of the Exodus when the Egyptian Pharaoh executed all of those Hebrew boy babies, Moses was placed on the Nile River and reared in the Court of the Pharaoh. Moses later murdered an Egyptian and so the saga goes. Evil was most certainly present in order to bring honor to the Person and Name of Yahweh!!

“Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.” Exodus 5:22-6:2 (ESV)

God designed the entire event(s) of history to move the dramatic story of man through God’s remarkable epic of the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. And why did the Creator go to so much trouble of destruction, illness, life and death? He did so in order to demonstrate that He is in control and that His Name will be honored.

“But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:19-20 (ESV)

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (ESV)

The problem for us is that we too often fail to recognize God for who He is and what He does in our lives. We see bad things and fail to sense the presence of the Lord in everything that takes place. We may see bad and call it evil only because what we see does not serve our purpose. But God has a reason for causing the things in our lives to occur and because we do not take time to listen to Him we too often forget that He is involved in everything whether we call those things good or evil. He is always present for our good and for His glory.

Therefore, evil is not the absence of God, but rather evil is most likely His Divine Presence presenting a lesson in living. Satan may very well be the one moving the evil along to bring confusion, but if you know God, the Person of peace, there will always be peace and victory in your life……