RECEIVING GOOD AND EVIL FROM GOD
You've heard people say, “Thank God! It was a good day.” What
about the bad days? Do we thank God in them? Do not the scriptures
tell us to “give thanks in all
circumstances”? (1 Thess. 5:18). This is the sentiment Job
expressed, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not
receive evil?” (Job 2:10).
The truth is that too many of us have a less-than-Biblical understanding of God and his relationship to the world. Is God in control? If so, how much does he control? The Bible says, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other” (Ecc. 7:14).
And consider Job again; We know that Satan (by God's permission) brought much calamity upon him even the deaths of his family. When it was all over and Job is restored, the scripture says that family and friends visited him and “ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him.” (Job 42:11).
Notice how despite Satan being the agent of calamity, in the final analysis scripture attributes the entire ordeal to God calling it “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him.”
I know. It's hard to understand, but let us not deny the plain teaching of scripture. God has his reasons. We aren't always privy to them, so our faith is based on his good and holy character for “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
The truth is that too many of us have a less-than-Biblical understanding of God and his relationship to the world. Is God in control? If so, how much does he control? The Bible says, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other” (Ecc. 7:14).
And consider Job again; We know that Satan (by God's permission) brought much calamity upon him even the deaths of his family. When it was all over and Job is restored, the scripture says that family and friends visited him and “ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him.” (Job 42:11).
Notice how despite Satan being the agent of calamity, in the final analysis scripture attributes the entire ordeal to God calling it “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him.”
I know. It's hard to understand, but let us not deny the plain teaching of scripture. God has his reasons. We aren't always privy to them, so our faith is based on his good and holy character for “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
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