Have you ever heard someone ask the question, “how are we to make sense of this?”
I have. And recently with what feels like a new shocking news story every day, I’ve heard it quite a bit. Christians are wondering why the tragedies that we’re seeing left and right don’t make sense in our minds and how we’re supposed to see God in it all.
Honestly… I don’t like this question. I have found myself wrestling with our desire to “make sense” of it all. Sometimes I wonder, should that be the endeavor?
When processing this, my mind immediately goes to the Old Testament book of Job. This book is full of poetry, tragedy, and back and forth conversations with God about evil in the world. I’d encourage you to dive into this book on your own and try to make sense of it because it’s truly fascinating but the ending is a little bit… odd? It concludes with God answering Job and going on for chapters about the wonder of His creation and how much He holds together and then it just sort of… ends. There’s no, “here’s why these things happened to you.” There’s no clean bow and ribbon on the gift of a perfect answer. God just responds, then Job gets blessed and all of his possessions are doubled, and that’s all we get.
It’s almost as if the book is saying to us, “in this life, it won’t always make sense.”
Are we okay with an answer like that? Can we take a deep breath and rest in the promise that God is good and He will work for the good of those who love Him? Or are we pursuing a kind of “sense” that the Bible simply doesn’t say that we should pursue?
Now, please don’t mishear me here. The New Testament is pretty clear that:
“Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”
Ephesians 6:11
“in the last days there will be very difficult times”
2 Timothy 3:1
“12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12
“33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”’
John 16:33
Scripture is not shocked, surprised, or caught off guard by evil. It’s pretty clear that evil happens all the time, will get worse, and that it’s a result of the spiritual battle that is raging on at all times. But it also provides the solution as well. Reread John 16:33 again. Did you catch it? Our solution to evil in the world isn’t to make sense of it, scream at it, post about it, or be consumed by it… it’s to take heart and fix our eyes on Jesus.
The Bible is clear that evil is real. We have to be aware that we have a very real enemy who hates the things of God. But the Bible does not say we have to make sense of it. In fact, the Bible’s call is rather simplistic. It’s to take heart, stand firm, worship Jesus, and anchor your life in the hope of His promised return.
In the world we live in now, the Bible describes the right view of evil this way:
19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
1 John 5:19
Currently, Satan has “power by permission” as it’s been called. Meaning, he has authority in the here and now but he’s on borrowed time. His clock is ticking. A time is coming when Jesus will return and destroy evil forever, wipe away every tear, and His establish a new earth for those who believe in Him. As we wait for that return, we will see and experience evil, but let us fix our eyes on Jesus, a good God who hates evil in the world like we do, but is pleading with us to trust in Him and await the day when He takes all power away from the enemy and goodness, truth, and light rule forever.
