God is a good God. There is no darkness or evil in God; everything He does is out of His goodness alone. He is the one who “forgives all our sins, heals all our diseases and redeems our lives from destruction” (Psalm 103:3-4). He daily loads us with benefits, crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, and satisfies our mouth with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 68:19; Psalm 103: 4-5). He is the one who bestows favour and honour, and withholds nothing good from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). He is good and kind to the wayward that He may lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4). God is good, and His mercies endure forever (Psalm 136:1).
If God is this good, why does evil abound on the earth, and why do bad things happen to good people? The Bible says in Psalm 115: 16 that “The heavens are the LORD’s, but the earth He has given to the human race”. Therefore, we have a say in what happens on the earth, and specifically what goes on in our lives. It is not all up to God, it is up to us too. We have an adversary, the devil, who goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). His work is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Even so, God gave us His son Jesus to destroy the works of the devil. Our faith in Jesus Christ is our victory over the works of the devil (1 John 5:4; Romans 8:37).
To choose not to believe in Jesus is to trust in your own human righteousness which amounts to nothing more than filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Such righteousness does nothing to deter the devil who only brings the things that cause sorrow. Rejecting Jesus Christ is actively choosing the devil (cf. Matthew 12:30; Galatians 6:8). And even to those who are of the household of faith, to the degree that we leave Jesus out in any area of our lives, we invite the devil in. Therefore we are told to give no place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). We are to submit ourselves to God, then resist the devil, standing firm in our faith, and he will flee from us (1 Peter 5:9; James 4:7). It is not God who does the resisting. We do. Until we learn to do this, we will be giving place to the devil, and the outcome will not be good.
God gives life, and He gives it to us more abundantly (John 10:10). “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). It is the devil who comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Therefore when tragedy happens or disaster strikes in our lives, we should not be confused as to its source. Neither should we be complacent about it to let it happen again. Even so, if we belong to Christ, this could not have happened if the devil had not been given a foothold by us from which he launched his devastating attack. But thanks be to God who restores, and even restores double of what we have lost (Joel 2:25-27; Zechariah 9:12).
As for God His Word is true. What He has said, He is also able to do. “God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). So when the unexpected happens, and the promises of God seem to have failed in our lives, let us diligently seek God in prayer that we may know where we may have given place to the devil. Prayerfully taking stock of our lives, in all humility and sincerity, can also reveal to us the areas in our lives where we may have left an opening for the devil to enter. Let us be quick to close any door by which we may have given the devil access to us, and resolve never to give place to the devil.
We should never allow any negative happening to shake our conviction of the goodness of God. Let us be diligent in closing every door to the devil and in this way fix every hole in our sack by which our blessings leak. And we shall walk in the experience of the goodness of the Lord all the days of lives.
-Kwadwo Omari, PhD
© 2016.
A Very Important Message
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Therefore, If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to put your faith in Him. Pray the prayer below to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour: “I come to you God in Jesus’ name and surrender my life unto you. I repent of my sins and I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with my heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. I thank you God for saving me, in Jesus name, Amen”. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, believe and be assured that you are saved, for the Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31). Find a Bible believing church to attend so that you can be discipled to grow in the ways of God. You can also email me ([email protected]) and I will be happy to grow together with you in Christ.