We could never adequately appreciate times of quiet unless we knew times of chaotic, noisy racket.
When the annoying rattle in the dashboard stops and we can drive without the distraction to our thinking, it’s good.
When the neighbor’s incessantly barking dog is finally given a bowl of food and is silenced, it’s good.
When the persistently griping co-worker goes on vacation for two weeks, it’s good.
Quiet is SO nice compared to corrosive noise.
Yet, without that racket, we wouldn’t value the calm as we should.
It’s all about the contrast.
And so it is with the chaotic, corrosive effects of evil.
In fact, God re-purposes that evil so that it promotes good.
Satan must hate how God does this.
But Satan hates everything, so that’s OK.
Check out this verse that can help us understand the place of evil in serving God’s purposes:
“But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” (Exodus 9:16)
These words of God were directed toward Pharoah when he wouldn’t let the Hebrews leave Egypt.
Pharoah was evil in his heart toward Moses and the Hebrews and defiant in his rejection of God’s miracle-amplified mandates to “let the people go.”
In verse 15, Moses told Pharoah that God could have simply wiped the Egyptian ruler and his people “off the face of the earth.”
But God’s sovereignty and His purposes are better served by God’s will overcoming evil rather than eliminating it from the earth.
It’s quite logical when we think about it.
Teams don’t lift trophies after practice sessions, but instead after championship contests.
There is no victory where there is no contest.
Evil creates the occasion for the contest.
Faith in God’s purposes and power creates the avenue for the victory.
God allows evil so that His children might re-purpose it for His glory and their victory.
Let’s remember this when evil stings us. Just like Paul did in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
As faith strengthens us during the contest over whom we trust — God or Satan — victory over evil will become our testimony that can spread God’s fame throughout the “earth” of our lives.
As always, I love you
Martin
