It's difficult however to see God in the things that we consider evil. Drug dealers, a tragic death in the family. Someone who you love has turned away from God. How can that have God in it?
Is the Bible a book full of fairy tales and happy endings? Hardly! People rise up, do well, sin, disobey God, perhaps they repent, perhaps they perish. Maybe they are great leaders, most of them were killed for their faith. It makes you wonder how radical our lives are. Achan's sin caused many people's deaths including the stoning of his family and many warriors who thought the Lord was with them. Does that challenge your faith? If you were one of those people would you have started to question God?
Saul was raised up to be King (as the people requested) and what did he do time and again? What he thought was best. God Chose him to lead his people and what happened. Disobedience. Eventually God sends an evil spirit to come onto Saul (1 Samuel 19:9) and Saul tries to Kill David. What is that about? Do we all still trust God. Can a God who sends an evil spirit onto someone be trusted? I would say just like Abraham trusted that God could raise Isaac from the dead because he knew God would fulfill his promises we should trust that God did not intend harm for David. But he knew Saul's heart and that it was getting close to the time for David to be raised up. Or perhaps he wanted Jonathan to see the evil in his father so that it would make it easier for him to relinquish power to David, the man after God's own heart.
What about Samson? What a perfect example of wretched disobedience of God! From his youth he disobeyed his parents, rumbled around violently having his own exploits and adventures. He was reckless and wild. He made wagers with other men, killed or beat up people at random, set things on fire. When he chose to marry a Philistine (who the Israelites were captive of) should not God have abandoned him? Surely this was not of the Lord? His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) But God used him for his Glory, did he not? That is what God is about, his Glory, and why shouldn't he be? Do you marvel at the power of God? Good, you should, God can carry the dirt of the earth around in a bucket and he tells the sea where to stop. Surely this is what we should be afraid of and not death, not public speaking, not sharing our faith, not that we won't have time to do what WE want to do. Are you pleasing your father?
When bad things happen what do you do? Do you pout? Or do you have a Godly perspective. God has taught us through Judges that when we turn our back on God, he will punish us, but when we repent and turn to Him he will deliver us. Sometimes His ways will not make sense to us. Many times we may question what He is doing. Who can see more though? More of the world? More of the past present and future. More of your heart or those around you. How this will impact your family and the Kingdom of God?
If we praise God for the things that make us happy, should we not also praise him for giving us the discipline and guidance we need by helping us to experience difficult circumstances and encountering evil?
So the next time I look at a beautiful sunrise, or feel the breeze lightly brushing against my cheek, I will also seek to remember that the same God who made this happen can also invoke a hurricane, earthquake, Tsunami or even a crazy thunderstorm. And he has every right. He is God! At the end of it what will we say? This was the will of God in whom I have put every hope and trust and faith.
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