Why evil?

Hope in God said:

I am new here, so this topic you may have crossed paths with. My apologies.
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How insistent the following verses seem to be.

Proverbs 12:21, “There shall no evil happen to the just…”

Psalm 91:10, “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

Psalm 121:7, “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.”

Have you found these to be true in your life? Has no evil befallen you or illness come to your home?

Consider Paul’s sufferings: “in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. (2 Cor. 23-27)

What is the hidden lesson here? Do we admit to the presence of evil in our lives at times or do we ignore, even deny, circumstances as Christian Scientists do?

Within my life, I have known heartache, pain, tragedy, loneliness, disappointment, loss, bad choices, and so much more. What was the cause? Did I not make God my dwelling place? Why was evil allowed to befall me? Why hadn’t God guarded and delivered me?

What if bad things happen to reasonably good people? Has God forsaken them? Punished them? Taken His hedge away?

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Welcome to CB, and Good topic!!!!!! I like these words that Jesus spoke:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

There is great evil in the world, but we can still have peace to know God has overcome all that.

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent."
Psalm 91:1‭-‬2‭, ‬9‭-‬10 NIV

A lot of harm befell Job, but he was given back ten fold in the end. I believe when it talks about preserving us from evil, it is talking about preserving us from the evil one. He may win battles in our lives if we forget God is with us and go our own way, but we will never lose the war. Christ already brought victory for us dying on the cross for our sins. He died and rose again and we rose again with Him. We will have life in abundance. But.God really is faithful in watching over us and helping us. But yeh, like with Job and Paul, the enemy is going to fight. It doesn't mean because trouble comes, evil has befallen us. Believers remain in His goodness.

Mayflower said:

Welcome to CB, and Good topic!!!!!! I like these words that Jesus spoke:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

There is great evil in the world, but we can still have peace to know God has overcome all that.

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent."
Psalm 91:1‭-‬2‭, ‬9‭-‬10 NIV

A lot of harm befell Job, but he was given back ten fold in the end. I believe when it talks about preserving us from evil, it is talking about preserving us from the evil one. He may win battles in our lives if we forget God is with us and go our own way, but we will never lose the war. Christ already brought victory for us dying on the cross for our sins. He died and rose again and we rose again with Him. We will have life in abundance. But.God really is faithful in watching over us and helping us. But yeh, like with Job and Paul, the enemy is going to fight. It doesn't mean because trouble comes, evil has befallen us. Believers remain in His goodness.

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Amen.

Welcome hope In God, I’m new here also.

Mayflower said:

Welcome to CB, and Good topic!!!!!! I like these words that Jesus spoke:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

There is great evil in the world, but we can still have peace to know God has overcome all that.

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent."
Psalm 91:1‭-‬2‭, ‬9‭-‬10 NIV

A lot of harm befell Job, but he was given back ten fold in the end. I believe when it talks about preserving us from evil, it is talking about preserving us from the evil one. He may win battles in our lives if we forget God is with us and go our own way, but we will never lose the war. Christ already brought victory for us dying on the cross for our sins. He died and rose again and we rose again with Him. We will have life in abundance. But.God really is faithful in watching over us and helping us. But yeh, like with Job and Paul, the enemy is going to fight. It doesn't mean because trouble comes, evil has befallen us. Believers remain in His goodness.

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John 14.27 is another really good one about the Lord's peace.

Hope in God said:

What if bad things happen to reasonably good people? Has God forsaken them? Punished them? Taken His hedge away?

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Those are all tough questions and sometimes we do not get the answers. The important thing is to not give up, but keep pressing forward.

Hope in God said:

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So you are saying, May, that he is preserving us from the evil one. How would you judge the misfortunes of those, who, like Corrie Ten Boom, nearly died at the hands of the Nazis? Would you not label those murderers the hand of the devil? Is there no greater sin than that which took place in the death camps? What on earth could be worse? How would the evil one show himself, since, as we know he is spirit? He has no bodily form, but is rather a fallen angel. How would we know when we are encountering him directly? We are told we will know them by their fruits. Was not the Holocaust the fruit of the devil? And have we all not had our fair share of evil encounters through untimely deaths, abandonment, disease, and more?

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Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
MATTHEW 10:28

The enemy is out to steal the sown Word in our hearts. There is much evil in this world yes. They can beat us to a pulp, but they cannot destroy us. Christ has won the victory.The enemy is defeated.

Mayflower said:

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
MATTHEW 10:28

The enemy is out to steal the sown Word in our hearts. There is much evil in this world yes. They can beat us to a pulp, but they cannot destroy us. Christ has won the victory.The enemy is defeated.

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Great text to remember there!

John 16.33 is another: the Lord has overcome the world full of tribulation.

Hope in God said:

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I am more on the level of thinking that you are, Enoch. We will finish our courses with joy, perhaps, but shall pass with innumerable unanswered questions. We shall know if we follow on to know the Lord....into the next life.

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I agree with this too. I provide what my hope is in this evil world, but I don't know all the answers. I just know God is.

A verse which relates to this, though it doesn't answer all the questions, is (Gen. 3:22). "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:..." In fact, it raises other questions.

To know 'good and evil' was with God only. Interestingly enough, we are never told the fallen angels knew 'good and evil' as man did. But man is eventually going to be higher than the angels. (Heb. 1:5-8) Perhaps God wanted man to know not just the good, but evil also, as He does. And how can you know it if you haven't experienced it?

Stranger

Hope in God said:

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So you are saying, May, that he is preserving us from the evil one. How would you judge the misfortunes of those, who, like Corrie Ten Boom, nearly died at the hands of the Nazis? Would you not label those murderers the hand of the devil? Is there no greater sin than that which took place in the death camps? What on earth could be worse? How would the evil one show himself, since, as we know he is spirit? He has no bodily form, but is rather a fallen angel. How would we know when we are encountering him directly? We are told we will know them by their fruits. Was not the Holocaust the fruit of the devil? And have we all not had our fair share of evil encounters through untimely deaths, abandonment, disease, and more?

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If you've read her books you will know that she and her sister knew the peace of God while they were in that camp and that they brought peace to many in that camp.

You hold up the holocast as the hight of evil. I'll offer you agreater, the killing for profit of babies.

There is a far greater evil than that done in those death camps or in those that exist today and that is to reject Gods free offer of mercy.

Hope in God said:

Proverbs 12:21, “There shall no evil happen to the just…”

Psalm 91:10, “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

Psalm 121:7, “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.”

Click to expand...

Yes. These promises held true, but occasionally one had to see the end of a man's life rather just judge things based only on what was going on in the immediate. The Jews - and even many Jewish Christians during NT times - were in the habit of judging by appearances based on what they could see in the immediate, and therefore determined that those who were poor and/or on hard times must be unrighteous whereas those who were rich and prosperous must be righteous (James 2:1-4). But this is why James cited the example of Job and the prophets. In the short term it might have appeared they were cursed, but one can only determine whether "evil befell a man" by how things turned out for him in the end. This is why Paul said, "If the gospel is not true, we are the most accursed/foolish of men." If it all ends in this life, being a Christian is not a wise thing to be, since "all who are in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."

Have I suffered persecution? I have certainly suffered a great deal of opposition, insults, and offenses. I have also had to endure a different standard of living than I otherwise would have if I were not serving God, since much of my time and energy was dedicated to Him instead. I voluntary gave up many of the things I would have otherwise pursued to pursue Him instead. I have not yet "resisted unto blood," but then... my life isn't exactly over yet either, LoL.

Mayflower said:

I agree with this too. I provide what my hope is in this evil world, but I don't know all the answers. I just know God is.

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I do love this verse in Job 13.15: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him". This is true trust and faith!

Hope in God said:

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So you are saying, May, that he is preserving us from the evil one. How would you judge the misfortunes of those, who, like Corrie Ten Boom, nearly died at the hands of the Nazis? Would you not label those murderers the hand of the devil? Is there no greater sin than that which took place in the death camps? What on earth could be worse? How would the evil one show himself, since, as we know he is spirit? He has no bodily form, but is rather a fallen angel. How would we know when we are encountering him directly? We are told we will know them by their fruits. Was not the Holocaust the fruit of the devil? And have we all not had our fair share of evil encounters through untimely deaths, abandonment, disease, and more?

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Remember (2 Timothy 3:10-14) and how Paul said “...what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. [12] Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. [13] But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. [14] But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them ;

Acts 2:23-24 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: [24] Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

We hear it all the time: the grave could no hold Him. Instead He swallowed up the grave in victory. Hell could not hold Him but rather He lead captivity captive and opened the door to the prisoners.

Luke 18:31-33 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. [32] For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: [33] And they shall scourge him , and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

Consider also the prayer “deliver us from evil” ...has He not? Where the flesh is weak its power is also weak ...where the Spirit is strong and grows in maturity even the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it. doesn’t He say to not fear what can be done to the body but rather fear (reverence)the One with the power to make free.

2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Don’t think He has forgotten the body of Christ (the church) but instead when she is weak ...the power of God Rest upon her all the more(His strength made perfect in weakness). He has delivered His body from the curse of death in Hope: Romans 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hope in God said:

I am new here, so this topic you may have crossed paths with. My apologies.
________________________________
How insistent the following verses seem to be.

Proverbs 12:21, “There shall no evil happen to the just…”

Psalm 91:10, “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

Psalm 121:7, “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.”

Have you found these to be true in your life? Has no evil befallen you or illness come to your home?

Click to expand...

Hi Hope in God,

I'd answer that blessings to Israel in the OT reflect the material, and in the NT, spiritual. (not excusively, I don't think, but primarily)

The righteous are protected.

Consider Paul’s sufferings: “in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. (2 Cor. 23-27)

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A couple of thoughts here . . .

Acts 9:15-16
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

Paul suffered many things, but he knew what they would be. God teaches us in 2 Corinthians 4 that our afflictions evoke Jesus' life in us, and build others as a result.

I know in my life how "he who has suffered has ceased from sin".

What is the hidden lesson here? Do we admit to the presence of evil in our lives at times or do we ignore, even deny, circumstances as Christian Scientists do?

Click to expand...

We reframe what we mean when we say "suffer".

What exactly is the presence of evil in our lives? I believe it is the anvil to God's hammer.

I've "suffered" many things. I can call them evil, and evil they were, but what man meant for evil God meant for good, and,

Can a truly, in my inner heart, believe, know, that the most brutal and terrible things that have happened in my life for really actually for my good? That nothing - nothing, not even that - got past God, but only what would be for my good. Only what was predestined to happen to make me like Jesus?

Within my life, I have known heartache, pain, tragedy, loneliness, disappointment, loss, bad choices, and so much more. What was the cause? Did I not make God my dwelling place? Why was evil allowed to befall me? Why hadn’t God guarded and delivered me?

What if bad things happen to reasonably good people? Has God forsaken them? Punished them? Taken His hedge away?

Click to expand...

What if the truth is that this isn't a matter of being good or bad, being forsaken or protected? What if the truth is that all things work for my good, and only that which is for my good is allowed?

Can we trust God, even when the information from our minds, and our senses - Ow! That hurts! That shouldn't be happening! - can we trust Him, believing that even things that seem horrible in our lives are still acts of God's unending love?

Much love!
Mark

Hope in God said:

I don't ask the Lord in an earnest effort to understand why a particular bad event occurred in my life. That's not my nature. I would, most likely, come up with some pretty outrageous conclusions if I inspected all incidents, so I simply leave it alone. Oh, I might mumble, "Why, Lord, why?" for a few minutes, but it doesn't last. It happened and I can't change it, and that is that.

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At the end of the day, I think this is really all we need.

Much love!

Windmillcharge said:

If you've read her books you will know that she and her sister knew the peace of God while they were in that camp and that they brought peace to many in that camp.

You hold up the holocast as the hight of evil. I'll offer you agreater, the killing for profit of babies.

There is a far greater evil than that done in those death camps or in those that exist today and that is to reject Gods free offer of mercy.

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Abortion Statistics - Worldometers

Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies in the USA (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.

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I saw Corrie Ten Boom speak when I was 15, I've never forgotten. She told us that she believed she was there so she could go on to tell people that there is no pit so dark that God is not there. Spoken by one who knows.

Much love!

Mayflower said:

It doesn't mean because trouble comes, evil has befallen us. Believers remain in His goodness.

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I like this!

Much love!