Adversity and Evil

The question of why evil is in the world is an age-old one that mankind has always struggled to comprehend. More than one unbeliever refuses to believe in the Lord because of this truth. Believers struggle as they deal with painful circumstances. Watching those we love go through times of adversity, particularly because of evil in the hearts of others, is often more difficult than when having such times ourselves.

Some lose their spiritual understanding of God’s nature of love. We lose sight of the word that clearly states He disciplines His own for our good. God works out character and maturity within, yet it remains painful to witness the suffering in this world. There are so very many who are afflicted with grievous challenges in their human lives, but Jesus said:

“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you will have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NASB

Adversity is a part of this world. God uses it all as a training ground for us to become more like Him. While we deal with the adversity in this life we are given, particularly through evil allowed continually to grow in the fleshly hearts of men and women, Jesus Christ our Lord reassures us that He has overcome the world. He is forever with us to give us peace and courage through all Father God allows to come our way.

We learn to accept His way of using redemptive justice, His corrective discipline, as an agent of change in our walk with Him.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 NIV

Adversity brings growth when you are spiritually educated by it. We can learn to thank the Lord through the challenges in our lives, knowing that we will grow because of them. Since God created everything, He created our adversary, satan, as well. The God of the universe has never lost control of any of His creation. Because God is good and loving, He created the adversary of our souls, satan, to do this work in darkness.

Consider the scriptures below that clearly, and perhaps shockingly, state that God created evil:

“Former of light and Creator of darkness, Maker of good and Creator of evil, I, Yahweh, make all these things.” Isaiah 45:7 CLV

“The One forming light and creating darkness, causing peace and creating disaster;I am the Lord who does all these things.”‍ ‍Isaiah 45:7 AMP

God, in creating the earth, separated the light from the darkness. The word ra is translated evil from Hebrew, meaning “adversity, affliction, calamity, distress, misery.” It is variously translated as disaster (NIV, HCSB, AMP), calamity (NKJV, NAS, ESV), and woe (NRSV). Many Christians, including Christian ministries, settle this question of evil by denying the truth of these passages. Evil is considered a force that is separate from our sovereign God and His goodness.

Many reason that there is no darkness in God, so how could He create evil? Yet it is clear that God created all things:

“Yahweh has made everything for its outcome, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” Proverbs 16:4 CLV

When we view the outcome of evil from our human understanding, there is no easy way to comprehend a good God creating it. How is it possible that wickedness has an outcome, a purpose in God? Is it all due to man having his own will, because God allowed human nature to do whatever? Is man’s free will stronger than God’s, really? There is no evidence in the Bible that this is so. God has been prepared for the outcomes of evil since that time in the Garden when Eve chose self over God, and Adam followed her.

Our almighty, omnipotent God was not caught unprepared when that happened. Our God is a God of contrasts: light with darkness, life with death, good with evil. Through these contrasts, we see the true nature of our Lord. His ways are above our ways and His thoughts higher than ours, but it is much easier to bring God down to our human reasoning. How quickly we may deny or explain away these scriptures that clearly state our God created all things, including our adversary, satan, for His purposes.

Jesus said that satan was not a fallen angel, as is often taught, but was a liar, a murderer, and the father of all lies from the beginning. He stated this to the scribes and Pharisees who were opposing Him, and John confirms it:

“‘You are doing the works of your father.’ ‘We are not illegitimate children,’ they declared. ‘Our only Father is God Himself.’

Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44 BSB

“The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8 AMP

Satan appears in the heavens but was never an angel who fell, bringing other angels down to earth with him. He is the serpent in the fields by the Garden of Eden. He is condemned to operate in the earthly realm of human life. Peter warns against satan’s rule over the earthly, fleshly lives of humans:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 ESV

How well the apostle Peter knew this after denying the Lord three times following His arrest. But Jesus had prayed for Peter to get through this test so that afterward, Peter would strengthen his brothers in Christ. It was a deeply grievous trial necessitated by Peter’s boast in himself rather than in the strength of the Lord. Peter did just that, being the first to preach a word of life to others after Pentecost.

The question we must settle in our hearts is this: Is God who He says He is? Does He remain a God of love and mercy while creating everything and ruling over all of His creation? Is He is omnipotent, all-powerful, and therefore ruling over satan, that adversary of our soul? Did Jesus Christ not fully defeat satan on the cross and receive the keys to death, hell, and the grave? Is human will manipulated by the devil to defeat the saints of God/?

This earthly realm is satan’s domain. It is the earthy nature within us that works in this earth we live upon. Back in the Garden, God set the limits of satan’s authority to the realm of our flesh. Satan has been busily doing just that throughout the centuries. By the book of Revelation, satan has grown from a small snake to a devouring dragon, defeated in the heavens but still able to operate in our earth along with evil spirits, the angels or messengers of evil.

Saints should recognize when satan and his evil nature are speaking within us. We should know about the war with Christ and His army against satan and his dominion in the earth and its systems occurring at the end of the ages. The true war of Armageddon is taking place in every heart. Here is the battle between good and evil, revealing whom we will serve: self or God.

There is an age when satan and his angels, His messengers, can no longer cause the accusing of the brethren in the body of Christ.

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!

But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” Revelation 12:7-12 in

Our adversary, the devil, cannot operate in heaven where the throne of God rules. He is the ruling spirit influencing the soul, the thoughts, will, and emotions of men through deception and lies. The worst that satan does is to deceive us into accusing our brethren in the Lord. If you want to see satan’s nature revealed, read again the skillful words he used to tempt Jesus in the desert. If Father God sent the father of lies to test His most precious Son, why is it so hard to accept that God will use him to test us, too?

Jesus Chris was led by the Holy Spirit to be tested in His mind, in the sinful thoughts that came to Him to do something in and for Himself rather than full obedience to God His Father. He overcame, showing it is possible, making a way for us to overcome.

“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

The devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ But Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’

Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

‘I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,’ he said. ‘For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.’

But Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ Then the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.

‘If You are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw Yourself down from here. For it is written:‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully; and they will lift You up in their hands so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’

But Jesus answered, ‘It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.” Luke 4:1-13 BSB

Three times the devil presented ideas to our Lord’s mind that were selfish, soulish, and sinful. He was hungry, vulnerable to using His spiritual authority for self by creating food to satisfy the lust of the flesh. When that did not work, satan went on to tempt Jesus with the lust of the eyes, to grant authority over the kingdoms of the world. He states that all Jesus could see would be his if He worshipped him.

The third temptation was the pride of life by assertingJesus could do whatever He chose because Father God would send angels to save Him. This was true. Jesus said at His arrest that He could call the angels and they would come to deliver Him. Satan appealed to Jesus with the temptation to put God to the test, to prove God’s faithfulness. Satan’s temptation to our Lord and Savior was to prove Himself to be the Son of God.

Jesus refused all three temptations embedded in satan’s deceptive use of scripture. Jesus refused it all, quoting Father God’s word which He knew well. Thus, Father God prepared His only begotten Son for His work on the earth. In His earthly ministry, Jesus the Son of Man, had multiple opportunities to do all three. Oh, yes, satan does have power and influence, stature and authority over humanity when we dwell in our earthly natures. He overcame the world, the flesh and the devil, making it possible for those who love and serve Him to also overcome.

How many of the Lord’s people are seeking for and settling for what earthly, perishable gain there is while forsaking a higher spiritual calling? There are those who know key spiritual truths but won’t preach them because they would lose their followers, their position, and their income. Think what a show would have been made of Jesus’ ministry if any carnal thoughts had been allowed to dominate the heart of our Savior.

Jesus used the truth of the word to rebuke His adversary when faced with temptation. Are these not familiar thoughts that are conceived in the heart of every man and woman who sins? God does not tempt us. Instead, it is in our own hearts, in the fleshly, selfish realm of the soul—our mind, will, and emotions. We are tempted by all that has yet to come under the rulership of the holy spirit:

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” James 1:13-16 NKJV

Satan was tempting our Lord by appealing to His own human desires, just as He continues to do with all of us. This passage ends with satan leaving Jesus until an opportune time. Satan had many opportune times from then until the cross. Did not Father God allow satan to work in the hearts of the Jewish leadership of the time? Did he not deceive the very disciples who had followed Jesus, one betraying Him and all abandoning Him in fear and confusion?

The devil becomes very active as times when our flesh is weak. Satan thought he had won as Jesus hung on the cross, but the victory was the Lord’s. When He rose from the dead, it is clear Who was in charge of this time of trial and temptation. Jesus always did what the Father showed Him to do. Jesus was led by the holy spirit into this experience and it did not end there, it had just started.

Jesus kept His eyes, His focus on the Father. He forgave His persecutors because He knew they did not know what they were really doing.In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah expresses familiar questions about evil flourishing in the world. The common language of The Message puts it very understandably to all of us now:

“You are right, O God, and you set things right. I can’t argue with that. But I do have some questions:

Why do bad people have it so good? Why do con artists make it big? You planted them and they put down roots. They flourished and produced fruit. They talk as if they’re old friends with you, but they couldn’t care less about you.

Meanwhile, you know me inside and out. You don’t let me get by with a thing! Make them pay for the way they live, pay with their lives, like sheep marked for slaughter.

How long do we have to put up with this—the country depressed, the farms in ruin—and all because of wickedness to do and think God has nothing to do with them.” Jeremiah 12:1-4 The MSG

Jeremiah talks it over with God by first establishing his belief and trust in God’s righteous nature. But therein is the dilemma. He knows that God is righteous, so how come the wicked prosper? Haven’t most of us considered these questions, with many of us asking God about it? The literal translation states that Jeremiah contends with the Lord, from the Hebrew word riyb, additionally meaning “to toss,: grapple, wrangle, hold a controversy, chide, complain, debate, plead, strive.”

Jeremiah’s discussion with God uses strong words to describe his struggle. The saints of old talked it over honestly with God, and so can we. It is not sin but honesty with God when these things are in our hearts. As Jeremiah did then, so should our first action be now. We ask God about it, presenting our dilemma and lack of understanding to the Almighty. We state our case. He already knows it anyway. Who but the Lord will be wiser in answering controversies of the heart?

Jeremiah really wants to know! God does not turn away those who sincerely inquire about His ways. He is not accusing but asking for heart wisdom in the matter. Jeremiah clearly acknowledges God’s rulership and authority over all when he states that God has planted the wicked and allowed them to grow and prosper. But the question remains: why are they allowed to flourish? Jeremiah knows the hearts of those doing evil are far from the Lord, while God knows Jeremiah’s heart, his innermost being, that has been tested by Him.

Jeremiah, the great prophet of the time, asks God to deal with the wicked, particularly as they deny God in their hearts, thinking He knows nothing about what they do. The wicked are destroying God’s creation, the animals and the birds, all of the flora and fauna. Avarice, the extreme greed for wealth and material gain, rules within them, directing their actions. They are not tending and cherishing this earth that Father God created for all living beings.

Isn’t this our 21st-century condition as we choose ways of living in this world that gravely harm the earth’s atmosphere and the habitats of other living creatures? When given a choice, human flesh decides to serve itself at the expense of others, including this earth, where we all, as well as future generations, must live. It’s challenging to imagine that we humans will ever get our act together to save the environment so essential to all creatures, including humans.

But God Himself promised He would not destroy the earth with a flood:

“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ‘I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you--the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you--every living creature on earth.

I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’

And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.

Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.’" Genesis 9:8-17 NIV

Never again will God flood the earth with destructive water. God has promised to sustain and restore all of creation, including mankind. He is the ultimate ruler of our natural earth, now our temporary homeland. He will take care of it all as we and all else are His creation. It all belongs to Him. Do you think God Almighty will refuse to dwell in His people while disregarding all of creation that cries out to Him?

Consider this passage in Romans:

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:19-23 NIV

The creation did not choose to be subjected to death. All of God’s creation is awaiting and longing, even groaning for the redemption and restoration of all things as God has promised.

“And the seventh messenger trumpets. And loud voices occurred in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of this world became our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall be reigning for the eons of the eons! Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders who are sitting on their thrones before God fall on their faces and worship God, saying,

‘We are thanking Thee, Lord God Almighty, Who art and Who wast, for Thou hast taken Thy great power and dost reign. And the nations are angered, and Thy indignation came, and the era for the dead to be judged, and to give their wages to Thy slaves, the prophets, and to the saints and to those fearing Thy name, the small and the great, and to blight those who are blighting the earth.’" Revelation 11:15-18 CLV

Just as those who rejoiced at the crucifixion of Jesus, we all have been deceived, none of us knowing what is right unless and until God opens our eyes. God set it up this way, and He is the only One who can fix it. Here is the truth of God’s ways when undeserved evil comes into the lives of His righteous ones. Many Christians avoid the account of Job, the most ancient book in the bible, about a righteous man who suffered because God allowed him to be tested by satan. Nonetheless, there are lessons to be learned about adversity and evil in the account of Job.

Here is a righteous, blameless man in God’s eyes who loses everything through adversity. God allowed satan to take all of his prosperity, his family, his health, everything but his life. The question to be answered was whether Job would praise God and remain righteous when stripped of all blessings and prosperity. It was a test of Job’s faithfulness to God, not just in the wonderful, abundant times of blessings but when deep hardship and loss are allowed to happen.

If God allows this as a trial for a blameless man, what can the rest of us anticipate? It is most uncomfortable to consider what God Himself consented to happen to Job, His faithful servant.

“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.…

One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.’

Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’

‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ Satan replied. ‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’

The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’ Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” Job 1:1; 6-12 NIV

Job was like no one else on the earth, blameless and upright before God. Here was a man who feared God. Job reverenced God and turned away from evil. Satan comes among the sons of God, just like he always has. He is not a son, but a servant, but here he is as the sons of God gather before Father God. Satan’s domain is the earth realm, the fleshly realm of humankind, where he was sentenced to dwell after the Garden of Eden.

Satan reports to God that he is doing his job, roaming around as the ruler of this earthly domain. God allows satan to test Job, just as God allowed satan to test Jesus, His only begotten son. While Jesus had nothing, Job had much prosperity in family and possessions. Job’s so-called friends try to comfort him, insisting he must have done something to cause his distress.

This is the same human reasoning we hear from others who assume that when bad things happen, we must have done something to deserve it. Job knows better and remains confident that he did not deserve the multitude of afflictions that came upon him. Job deals with God, not satan, about this. We do not know, but the evil in people around Job was likely used to strip him of all. Job does not rail at the devil or at other people because Job knows with whom he has to deal:

“Is my complaint directed to a human being? Why should I not be impatient? Look at me and be appalled; clap your hand over your mouth. When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body.

Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful? They live to see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren. Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them. Their bulls never fail to breed. Their cows bear calves and never miscarry. They let their children frisk about like lambs. Their little ones skip and dance. They sing with tambourine and harp. They celebrate to the sound of the flute.

They spend their days in prosperity, then go down to the grave in peace. And yet they say to God, ‘Go away. We want no part of you and your ways. Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’ (They think their prosperity is of their own doing, but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)

Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished. Do they ever have trouble? Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger? See, their well-being is not in their own hands. The wisdom of the sinful is far from me.” Job 21:7-17 NLV

Job is contending with God, just as Jeremiah did. He is asking the Lord why he is experiencing all this suffering and affliction, when those who are not righteous but wicked are doing well. He does not understand the sinful nor why they prosper. The answers his friends provide are not at all satisfying, though they sound familiar because they are from human reasoning. He seeks to comprehend from God all the adversity that has come upon him undeservedly.

These friends attempt to answer Job’s complaints in ways that are neither enlightening nor comforting to him. Even Job’s wife says he should curse God and die. When God arrives to speak to them all, He first chastises Job for thinking he can understand the Almighty God of the universe, Who created all things and established the known world in all its glory and splendor. Job then repents in sackcloth and ashes, admitting that God is God and he is not; that he has spoken of things too high for him to understand.

God then defends Job to his friends, affirming that Job is an honorable and upright man. God chastises them for their errors in addressing Job’s afflictions. How often are we, as modern-day Christians, Job’s comforters, providing neither comfort nor wisdom to those struggling with what God allows for His own, precious people who serve Him? These are often casual explanations from the mind of man, blaming the suffering for their own situations!

There is no comfort in the dark times of the soul from these sources. Sometimes the only thing we can tell ourselves or others suffering unfair, even unspeakable things, is that we do not know why. We can affirm that it is not because God does not love them. God does answer, though we may not understand or even agree with the answers He tells us. One scriptural response from the Lord in comprehending the horrors of this world:

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18 BSB

Most of us have not gone through severe and sustained atrocities, only hearing about them rather than living through them. Many others have and do live through horrors the rest of us cannot imagine, including those who serve in callings that involve danger and disaster daily. There are always Christians suffering more than we are. As Job teaches, God’s saints are not spared.

Instead, it is a part of God’s plan to make us like Him, bringing all glory to God. The verse right before that statement in Romans states:

“And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.” Romans 8:17 NIV

God commands us not to take another’s life, a truth even in serving one’s country in war and in keeping the peace and safety of the nation. This is breaking God’s laws, no matter how justified and necessary. Moral wounds dwell within the soldiers and others who live through these events. Many of them witness and even commit unimaginable acts demanded by their circumstances and calling.

It takes God to settle these deep wounds in the hearts and souls of those who have been called to do so to keep the rest of us safe. Such things are far beyond my understanding, but I have sat with those who struggle in their deeply wounded and damaged souls because they had to kill to stay alive and to protect others.

But this is just the beginning of answers. Each person sooner or later must resolve the issue of adversity and evil as a believer as they walk with the Lord in their experiences. We look to the Psalmist, who states:

“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.

Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.

Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, ‘How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?’ This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed Your children.

When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.” Psalms 73:1-20 NIV

It appears that evil is successful and keeps on getting rewarded in this life, but such troubling thoughts are dealt with by entering God’s sanctuary, His dwelling place. The author of the Psalm struggles with the same issues, deeply troubled in his soul, until he enters God’s presence. He is stating a familiar lament: “Why bother doing right or pleasing God? What’s the point when the wicked are doing better than I am as Your servant?”

Perhaps this is the secret wish of those who cling so strongly to the teaching of the rapture doctrine which casts unbelievers in hell forever. Is it that such saints believe their goodness should earn a free pass to a leisurely eternity while unbelievers have done nothing to earn that? Jesus has a response to those who see themselves as having done much for the Lord but have not connected with Him, the Vine, to bear the fruit of the spirit.

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23 BSB

When there are many works for God without the evidence of the fruit of the spirit, Jesus said they would be thrown into the fire. This is not a fire that consumes and destroys the person, but the blessed refining fire of God that purifies them. Then they will show forth the fruit of His nature, not just the outward works they have done for Him.

God gives Job understanding that the end, the destiny of the wicked, is different from their beginning. The appearance of prosperity and ease is swept away by God’s hands, either on this earth or as they face judgment when their rank is called upon to face the Almighty. Those who are not already purified will be thrown into the lake of fire, a great concentration of God’s word of truth through His saints, that will burn up their fleshly motives.

We are stuck in time, but God has an eternal plan that will bring all to a conclusion in a way that glorifies Him. The great prophet, Jeremiah, the righteous servant Job, and the writer of Psalm 73 all had the same issue: dealing with the outward prosperity of those who do evil while the righteous suffer in affliction day and night. What did each of them do? They talked it over with God, knowing it is God’s business who He chooses to prosper.

These precious saints reject the way of the godless sinner who appears to prosper in the earth, choosing the path of affliction and sorrow with God. Many saints testify that painful adverse experiences have made them stronger, equipping them specifically for strengthening their brothers and sisters in the Lord. Excruciating loss and devastation are surrendered to God for His will to be accomplished.

Which lives testify more of our Lord: the one who is blessed and always prospers in serving Him, or the one who continues to serve Him despite trouble and affliction on every side? Not all God’s people are called, chosen, and faithful, going all the way with the Lord, but many surrender to suffering as our Lord was required to do. Jesus Christ strengthens us through every adversity as we seek to live in the realm of the spirit rather than remaining earth dwellers.

We are enabled to yield to God, see the eventual good the Lord creates, trusting Him through it all. And as the song says, it will be worth it all when we see Jesus. When we are called to be a son of God, He is in charge. We did not volunteer, just as the Apostle Paul did not volunteer but was apprehended. It is a call to endure discipline through trials and testings, times of adversity that are hard to endure. God states very clearly:

“And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you’.

For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives. Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” Hebrews 12:5-7 BSB

Do you want God to call you a Son of God, used by Him to free all creation? Wisdom shows us that adversity is sent to the saints to reveal ourselves to ourselves, to show what is in our hearts. We desire to follow the Lord, to be like Him. Adversity and suffering are on this earth, including our earth. It is a critical part of our growth. We may wish it weren’t so, as this life brings so many things very, very hard to bear, let alone understand.

Such adversity from the evil in this world, in the hearts of humans, does not appear to be equally distributed to earthly eyes, but He promises comfort, healing, and peace so that we will be like Him. He alone knows the end from the beginning. We are empowered to glorify God the Father despite, as well as because of what He allows in our lives.