Evil helps us see God’s Character
I am not always grateful for the Bible as I should. It’s something that I am working on. At times, I take it for granted.
As I look and read God’s holy Word, it reminds me of a good and gracious God.
Growing up, I learned about God and what he could do from Bible stories. Noah and the Ark, Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, David, and Goliath. Daniel in the lion’s den. The list goes on and on. All of these accounts in the Bible tell us about God. They reveal His character and His plan of redemption for all of humanity.
We can find who God is from the Bible. God shows us His character as He interacts with the people in the Bible. The majority of the people in the Bible had some struggles. In that struggle, we see the character and attributes of God. The Bible is a book about God so that it can tell us about God’s character.
Through our struggles, God reveals His character to us.
“In the Bible’s descriptions of God, the emphasis is on how different he is from us or from anything else. He cannot be seen, nor can he be contained or limited” (Bray, 2021)
When we know who He is and how He works (to a degree, because like I said earlier, you and I will never fully understand God.) We can learn to rest in His sovereignty and power.
As believers, our struggles should draw us closer to God. When we know what God can do, we can have peace in our situations.
There are specific attributes of God that make him who he is and help us better understand him in human terms.
What attributes or characteristics of God resonate the most?
For me, it’s His goodness, faithfulness, sovereignty, and immutability……
Among all of the evil we will encounter in this world, God is good. Scripture tells us, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” James 1:17 NLT
As followers of Christ, He passes on this goodness to us.”The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” Psalms 84:11b NLT
“The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.” Psalms 145:9 NLT
He is faithful. We can always count on God to help us when we need it. Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God.”
In the middle of our mess, God has a plan. In the evil, good will prevail. God is Sovereign. He does not panic. His purpose and plan will always prevail, because He is God. “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” Eph 1:11 NLT
Immutable. God does not change. This gives me the most comfort. In my trial or struggle, God’s character will not change.
“God tells us, ‘I am the Lord, and I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6 NLT).
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 NLT
There can be so much chaos in our lives during trials or hardships. Knowing that God will always be good, faithful, gracious, and merciful is comforting.
Without our struggles, I don’t believe we would see the character of God in our lives.
Yes, evil is bad, but without it, our encounters with God would not be as sweet, and we would not have hope.
Learning about God’s attributes can provide us with a sense of relief and peace. We have nothing to fear when we place our faith and hope in Him.
References
A Visual Guide to Biblical Apologetics by Joseph M. Holden and Sarah R. Enterline
Why Does God Allow Evil? By Clay Jones
Without a Doubt Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions by Kenneth Samples
Christian Apologetics by Douglas Groothuis
Bray, G (2021). The Attributes of God: An Introduction
