Evil Meant for Good

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.

You may be wondering, ok but what about the bad things that happen? What about the hurt I've experienced? The evil that fought against me? I'd say yes, it all works together.

I think when evil rises against us, we begin to question, I thought only good gifts came from above? I thought everything worked together for my good? So then why the evil? Why the bad? This is a big question that I'm going to try and tackle in a short amount of time, so bear with me haha!

Why evil? I think that if evil didn't exist, good wouldn't either. That if the devil didn't exist, God wouldn't either. Evil is a consequence/the reason of the fall. Why Eve ate the apple and why Adam did too. Why Cain killed Abel and Saul persecuted Christians... but we are still talking about those stories aren't we? God has used them to shine light on His power or give examples of what not to do. God has a grand plan, involving every person, and every inch of land, He has a purpose and it will prevail, whether people mean to work for God or not, you cannot hinder or mess up His plan. It will prevail and He will work good and evil together for the good of those who love Him. Why would God allow evil? I think that God allowed freedom and because of the sin in our hearts, in Adam and Eves hearts, the fall took place. Adam and Eve used their freedom wrongly. Why give them freedom? I could ask you, why would you let your child cook if you knew they would touch the pan even after you told them it's hot? Why would you let your child drive if you knew they'd get a ticket for speeding (you may kick them off of your insurance plan, but you don't stop them from driving)? Why? Because they'd never learn and if they never learned, they'd never grow, and if they never grew, they'd never know, and if they never knew, they couldn't be more. So let's picture the world everybody asks about, no evil. If there was no evil how would we know what true goodness is? How could we appreciate the good, if good was all we knew? Evil is the absence of good. How can the absence of something exist without first the presence of something existing? How would we know what the absence of good looked like if at first we didn't know what good was? Adam and Eve knew what was evil, because it was the opposite of God, and God is good. There are a number of stories in the Bible talking about God using evil for good. But the example I will give is Genesis 50:20,

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. (Gen 50:20)

Because He was/is merciful and gracious, we receive freedom, but because we become dissatisfied with the "guards" God put around our freedom, we like to test those boundaries or "guards" and explore, therefore we sin, and evil becomes. Just like when you tell a child not to do something, they will eventually do it, they test, they wonder why, and they want to see for themselves. He doesn't delight in evil as Psalm 5:4 says, He hates evil, hates sin. He can't be around sin, which is why Jesus died for our sins, so that we can be reconciled with Him, so He could close the chasm between us and God. The serpent in the garden was not a surprise to God, that sin you committed was not a surprise to God, He sees it all, He has a plan for it all. He uses evil and turns it for good. He turns mourning to dancing. (Ps 30:11)

What we call "evil" or "bad" can also be because our plans didn't happen. Because what we thought God wanted did not happen. So what we may call evil or bad, He sees as opportunity for good, for light to shine, and for His power to move. Instead of complaining about the bad, praise Him in the bad, ask Him what He is showing you in that moment? Ask Him to use that moment for good. The Lord allowed Satan to test Job. God did not test Him, God knew Job's heart, Satan tested him. And God in the end doubled everything Job had, now I am not saying that if anything bad happens to you, God will bring you all these things, no. What I am saying though is that there is a bigger picture here, we only see a tiny corner of it. And maybe you won't ever understand the trails you face on earth, you won't see why bad things happened, but just because we don't see it, doesn't mean He isn't working, and definitely doesn't mean that the good did happen. He allows a certain exercise of freedom, because if He always caught us before we fell, instead of helping us up afterward, what good would that do for us? It wouldn't match that He wants to do what is best for us, because if we never fell, we could never learn, and we could never get up. If evil never existed, what would the Bible even be? There would be no story, it starts in Genesis 3 with evil, we see evil work all throughout the Bible, but we see at the same time God use it for good. If Pharaoh's heart was never hardened how would He would have revealed Himself to the Israelites? If sickness never happened how would we know God is Healer? If Job never lost anything, how would we know He is Provider? If the serpent never came into the garden, how would we know what good is?