"Why do the wicked still live, Continue on, also become very powerful? (Job 21:7 NASB)
Ultimately, this is the question we all struggle with.
Is evil really going to win out in the end?
More than that, why does it seem to win today?
I love a good story. It doesn't matter whether I'm reading the printed (or computer-lit) word, listening to someone speak, or watching a visual rendition of the tale to be told. I really love a good story.
Of course, I have a definition of "good" for a story. The story often has good battling evil in some way. Perhaps there will be a romantic interest all the way through. But always...Always...ALWAYS...good wins out in the end. When it doesn't, I find myself saying, "I didn't care for that story too much." Even a classic like Romeo & Juliet or West Side Story leaves us with a sense of meaninglessness. We want the good of love to win out in the end.
Life is more than a story. It's real. As we walk through life, though, we have a sense that good should win out. That makes it difficult for us when we look around and good doesn't seem to be winning over evil. It can be in our own homes, workplaces, areas where we live, our country, or even the world-wide picture. Watching the news only serves to deepen the despair as we listen to stories of death, destruction, corruption, wars, and even natural disasters. Is evil really winning? Is it going to win in the end?
Job was struggling with this very question. While he didn't believe he had done anything wrong to encounter the evil he was experiencing, the more difficult problem was watching people who were doing evil thrive all around him. How can this be? Is evil going to win? Where is God in all this?
With Job's story, we have the benefit of seeing "the rest of the story." We know what's going on as Job is experiencing this low point in his life. We also know how God is using it in the Spiritual realm. More than that, we know that God will be restoring Job and blessing him even more in the end. The real question is this. Do you trust Him?
Have you ever seen the animated film, "Aladdin?" In the movie, Aladdin is portrayed as a person who does bad things (like lying & stealing) because of his bad circumstances. He has a good heart, though. He's described as a "diamond in the rough." Twice in the show he uses the phrase, "do you trust me?" In fact, that very phrase gets him in trouble as the princess catches him in his web of lies. He asks for her trust, but he really doesn't deserve it; at least not yet. He still has some growing up to do.
I've had many folks asking me questions about God during various Bible Studies I'm in. Their questions essentially tell me that they don't trust God. "Why did He do that? Why didn't he tell them this way? If He really loved them, He would have..." The internal struggle is whether or not they trust that God is fair, that God is love, that God is Holy, that God is reliable, and that God will win in the end.
Scripture tells us all these things. God is fair. God is love. God is Holy. God is reliable. He is completely worthy of our trust. And, God will win in the end.
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