Proverbs 3:5-8
Do Not Be Wise in Your Own Eyes Fear the LORD and Shun Evil
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
The author of Proverbs teaches us that we are to trust in the LORD with all of our heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight...Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil...This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones...But why doesn't the LORD just rid us from all evils?...
Jesus knows what evil is...And evil happened to Him, taking Him to His death on the cross...
While Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane evil would be coming His Way...He was with His Disciples on the eve of the Roman soldiers coming to arrest Him then to torture Him and later hang Him and die on the cross...And while Jesus was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people...Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; arrest Him.”...And immediately Judas went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him...But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.”...Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him...Evil had arrived...And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear...When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “LORD, should we strike with our swords?”...And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear...But Jesus calmly said, “No more of this!”...And He touched the man’s ear and healed him...Even in Jesus' greatest time of evil, He was forgiving and healing...Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword...Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?...How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”...Jesus could have walked away from all His troubles and suffering, had He just easily called on the twelve legions of angels, but He did not...
The Disciples were trying to understand what was happening, and Jesus, I believe wishes that the Eleven could understand what is going on as all the commotion is happening...And Jesus tells all who came with Judas and others who had gathered to see what was going on, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt?...Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me...But all this has taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets will be fulfilled.”...Then all the disciples left Him and fled...Jesus was seeing Scripture fulfilled with evil being involved and all around...
No one at this time, including Jesus Disciples, could see all the Good that was going on and what was going to happen as Jesus' passion would save the world from sin with His death on the cross...
Yet, just knowing what God's Plans are not enough to tell us why evil is allowed to exist...Even Jesus, just a short time earlier was anxiously contemplating His torture and death in the Garden of Gethsemane...Jesus anxiousness and inevitable suffering, and His impending death had Him pray...He prayed, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My Will, but Yours be done.”...An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him...And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground...And Jesus did not call on the twelve legion of angels to save Him, but followed and was obedient to His Father's Will...
When there are miracles in one's life and we see an unexplained cure and healing, an auto accident that someone miraculously walks away from -still doesn't answer the question of why God allows evil...And when evil happens if often means pain, suffering, and tragedy - as it did for Job and God's children...And it did not help the tragic death of Jesus...Yet, as we study the death of Jesus, His followers would not say it was tragic, it was Saving and Salvation for us...
Perhaps God wants us to experience a sacrifice, through our suffering...The cross maybe one of our Great Lessons...Maybe God sees evil as a learning process for mankind...Scripture and the Prophet Isaiah said the LORD spoke saying, “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”...The rough metal was shaped into something beautiful...And this newly refined silver was tested in the heat of the fire of the furnace...The Great Potter Maker has His Plan...The Potter turns things upside down...You think the clay is equal to the Potter...You think that something that is made can tell the one who made it, “You did not make me!”...This is like a pot telling its Maker, “You know nothing.”...Shall what is in its final form say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”?...Suffering may make us something better by strengthening our integrity and faith...We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His Purpose and His Plan...
If there was no cross, there probably would have been and be no Jesus...And by allowing evil to stay on earth, is God could be giving us more time to find Him and His Son?...Do we not seek Him more when tragedy and troubles are among us...Perhaps taking away evil, would have us seek Him less and many would not find His Son if all evil were gone, because we seem less likely to look for God when everything is going all as planned in our lives...
God is patient in eternity and in time...When Job finally got to be with God something happened to Job...And so Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted...You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My plans without knowledge?’...Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know...“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’...My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You...Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”...The LORD was not slow in showing His Presence to Job, as Job had understood slowness...Eternity is different...God's Wisdom is Infinitely Greater than Ours...His Knowledge is Unsurpassed...God does not want anyone to perish and not be in His Presence, but wants everyone to repent...