God gave us everything, created all, and NOTHING can happen without Him knowing. So how come He allows wickedness and trials to happen to us? This question seems to be the main sought-after point when dealing with unbelief in others about God. Let’s dive into this!
First off, yes, God does know everything; He sees all, and nothing can happen without Him. This is all true, yet people seem to forget the very thing that God is all about, and that’s free will. He never forces us to do what He says, instead, He commands us and sets guidance for us. He even sent His son Jesus to literally SHOW us what it looks like to have love for one another, regardless of how they treat you. So if our Lord in Heaven allowed such horrible things to happen to His Son Jesus, what makes you think that you’re going to be immune to such atrocities of this world, or that your child is safe, or you won’t get cancer, or be subject to the wickedness of this world?
Now, before you start yelling at this page that God must be evil or horrible to allow such things, let’s push past normal thinking for a minute. Everything that happens to us can be used for the greater glory of God if we allow it. Have you experienced something horrible? Something that keeps you up at night? Something that you think will just ruin your opportunity to have a normal life now? Well guess what, that’s kind of the point. God knows what has happened to you, but He also knows that you can use this for Him; you can outreach to others that are struggling with this same issue. You can help them and connect with them, showing them they are not alone in this wicked world and that you were called by God to do something about it, showing them compassion and mercy as a fellow person who also went through similar trials. Do you see that? Do you see how God uses our trials as a testimony?
I was once told every decision we make is either drawing us near God or pulling us away from God. Let me give an example, with something as dumb as a couch purchase. Do you want to buy a couch because your other couch is slightly damaged and your neighbor has a better-looking one, and they come over all the time and you’re embarrassed? Well guess what, this reasoning is pulling you away from God, because worrying about your image in this wicked world is pointless, buying things you don’t need is worthless and only trying to inflate yourself and your riches here on Earth. However, let’s look at this with another mindset. You want to buy a couch because you’re starting to host more people at your home, and it’s getting too full during Bible study groups, or maybe you’re thinking about foster care and you need more room for everyone to sit together in the living room. This type of thinking is literally for growing God’s Kingdom, doing things He actually is calling us to do, and therefore drawing us near Him.
So you see, God doesn’t intervene on either side, because we have free will to choose how we will spend our time, what we do, who we see, and whether we will bring Him to others. God wants our attention and love, a relationship with Him. He wants us to take whatever scenario that enters our life and use it for His glory and to relate to others who aren’t using it for His glory and need to find Him. Keeping a Kingdom focus rather than on life events and worldly things that break down or fail us will keep us encouraged and feeling purposeful. We only have this one life on Earth to bring people to Him; after this, we will only be surrounded by those who know Him, so let’s make the best of our time and resources.