Remember, these articles began with the question that is on a lot of people’s minds these days: “Where is God in all the turmoil occurring in this world?” And, the answer has been coming forth from week to week, for well over a year now—God is just where He said He would be, as recorded in Holy Scripture.
A kindred question on the minds of most of those same people is this: “Is God in control of the events on earth, or is He either unable to control earth events, or does He just not care about what is going on in our world?” Well, let us do a little investigating, and see what we come up with. When Adam and Eve sinned, did they get away with their infraction, or did it turn out just the way God had warned? Who was in control of the flood in Noah’s day, the devil, man or the Creator? Who scattered those one-language-people all over the world from Babel, the devil, man or God? Did Egypt manage to keep God’s people in bondage forever, or was Egypt demolished in Israel’s deliverance? And who delivered them from Egyptian bondage; and then give to Israel the property and goods of the seven ungodly nations in Canaan? And despite Israel’s repeated rebellion for hundreds of years under both judges and kings, was any nation or kingdom able to annihilate God’s people, the Jews? Was the devil able to destroy the family line of the Messiah, although he tried to do so many times over many centuries? And when the Messiah finally showed up as a babe, did Satan manage to get rid of the One Who came to fulfill all those promises of all those Old Testament prophets? Is any of this getting through? Where is God? Were the rebellious Jews of the first century able to shut down the church of Jesus Christ? Were the Romans able to rid the world of the church in the following centuries when Christianity spread far and wide? Did the wayward church institution foil God’s plan for the church and the world, even though the devil used it in an attempt to do so for over a thousand years? And although the devil has worked extremely hard to make sure God’s Word is not made available to everyone, why are there more Bibles in more languages, and in more locations on this planet than ever before? Why have Germany, Russia and the Muslim nations not been to wipe out Israel; or take over that tiny little strip of real estate? The Jews are God’s covenant people through God’s covenant with Abraham. And, since Jesus Christ is the Seed of Abraham, then we who are in Christ are heirs of the same promises (Galatians 3:26-29). So the devil is not going to be able to get rid of either the Jewish nation or Christianity. This has to be encouraging! But what about all the evil going on in the world? God gave human beings free will, and He will not violate His divine gift. However, our free will cannot be abused without undesirable consequences. With free will came both responsibility and instructions on its proper use and purpose. God certainly did not grant us the freedom to choose, in order for us to rebel against Him. However, God obviously knew rebellion was a possibility in His moral creatures. But, He also obviously considered giving us free will preferable to making robots of us all. What pleasure would He get from pushing buttons to make us do certain things? It would be a good idea to read and ponder John 4:23-24. God is Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer and Judge. His prophecies of last-days events emphasize His Judgeship; the culmination of all His other attributes and functions.
(Ron Craig is pastor, teacher and author of Christian books; and these articles. You may view all the books by logging onto www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on the website you can even listen to audio Bible-lesson podcasts. You may also send your questions or comments to ronwritercraig@gmail.com)