If God is so Good, Why is the World so Bad?

 If God is so good, why is the world so bad?

Well . . .

It was an ordinary day.

They strolled through the garden tasting the fruit on each tree just like they had the day before. Song birds sang cheerful melodies, and a soft breeze blew a strand of hair across Eve’s face. All seemed right and good. But as they lingered among the grove of trees the birds flew away and the breeze turned cold.

Suddenly she and Adam realized they were not alone. Someone, or rather some thing, had joined them.

“Did God really say that you could not eat from any of the trees?” a hissing voice behind them questioned. 

Eve whirled around to see the sneaky serpent a few yards away. Of all of the animals in the garden, his presence always sent chills down her spine. She corrected him, “We may eat fruit from any tree in the garden except the one in the middle. If we eat of it or even touch it, we will die.”

“You won’t die!” countered the serpent. “God knows that when you eat of it you will be like Him and your eyes will be opened and you will know good and evil” (Genesis 3:2-4  my paraphrase).

The rest of the story. . .

Life changed forever that day. Their human eyes were opened when they ate the forbidden fruit. They now not only knew good, but they also knew what it was like to doubt God’s truth–they knew evil. And because they now knew evil, their actions released mankind’s ability to choose evil over good.

From the beginning of time, Adam and Eve had the choice to trust or doubt God, but now humanity was given the opportunity to choose life or death, murder, selfishness, bitterness, gluttony, idolatry, and a long list of actions opposite of the goodness of God–the image we were once made in.

In his book, The Three Battlegrounds, Francis Frangipane writes, “Satan’s arsenal consists of such things as fear, worry, doubt and self-pity” (p. 51).

Ouch. Do any of those items hit close to home for you too? Haven’t we all entertained at least one if not all of these weapons of the enemy? Frangipane continues this thought, “When Satan hurls his darts against you, the more peace you have during adversity, the more truly you are walking in Christ’s victory” (51).

Where do we get such peace? How do we get it?

We only find peace when we trust God’s goodness and faithfulness, His truth. I add “truth” because the Hebrew word translated as “faithfulness” can also be used as “truth.” In contrast, when I hear the word “faithfulness,” I connect it with “love,” so when my prayers aren’t answered as prayed or the healing doesn’t come, it appears that God is not lovingly faithful. But that is not truth. “Our victory comes by refusing to judge by what our eyes see or our ears hear, and by trusting that what God has promised will come to pass.” ~Frangipane

[bctt tweet=”Our victory comes by refusing to judge by what our eyes see or our ears hear, and by trusting that what God has promised will come to pass. ~Frangipane” username=”wordsbyandylee”]

The secret to fighting the battle is trusting Him. So, that is why the battle cry is so important! That is why the truth of God’s goodness and faithfulness must travel from our heads to our hearts and from our hearts through our lips. This is our arsenal against the sneaky serpent who lives to place doubt in our minds.

This is also why studying the Bible, God’s tangible truth, is paramount. George Mueller explains it:

The strength of our faith is in direct proportion to our level of belief that God will do exactly what He has promised. Faith has nothing to do with feelings, impressions, outward appearances, nor the probability or improbability of an event. If we try to couple these things with faith, we are no longer resting on the Word of God, because faith is not dependent on them. Faith rests on the pure Word of God alone. And when we take Him at His Word, our hearts are at peace.

And His Word says:

“. . . For Your mercy and loving-kindness are great and high as the heavens! Your truth and faithfulness reach to the skies!” (Psalm 108:5 AMP)

This is my daily battle cry. His goodness has no ceiling, no end. Even when I don’t understand.

What other truths from the Word of God- what scriptures- are part of your arsenal? Leave a comment and I will enter you into the drawing for the giveaway of The Three Battlegrounds, by Francis Frangipane. This book was a game changer for me. Got to share it!

 

I’ll announce the winner Monday, April 18, with the Bite of Bread!

 

Finding Purpose in Truth,

 

andy