I often hear the statement: “How could a God who made all the beautiful things in the world also make things that are scary and evil?” Many are puzzled by the seeming contradiction of a good God and His “involvement” with evil. Did He create the devil?
The fairly common misconception that God created satan is birthed out of our casual acceptance of statements like, “God is in control” and “God always gets His way, so He must have wanted this to happen”.
If we believe evil is somehow God’s will, we cannot confidently ask Him for protection and deliverance from it! ThequestionofwhetherorhowGodwasinvolvedin the devil’s appearance needs to be settled in our thinking so that our ability to trust God and rest in His goodness will increase. If we believe God is “in control” and observe the chaos in the world around us, the frequent assumption is that if God’s control lets this mess happen, He may not be absolutely good.
The word sovereign means “ultimate, supreme power over all.” This is the word used to describe God throughout Scripture. Control means “the power to direct people’s behavior; to steer, command, dominate or hold sway over.” While sovereign and control have some commonality, they are not interchangeable. When we use these words as though they’re the same, we tend so strongly toward the definition of control that we begin living as if ourwillisaprivilegeinnameonly. Wesayresentfully, “God is going to do what He’s going to do anyway. He always gets what He wants.”
We only have to learn about the wonderful environment God created for humanity to know what He wants for us: intimacy with Him, strength, wholeness and perfect provision. “God saw everything that He had made, andbehold,itwasverygood,suitableandpleasant. He approved it completely….” Genesis 1:31 (AMP). When God placed the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden, He blessed them and said, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth; you subdue it. Use all its vast resources in the service of God and man; have dominion over the fish…the birds…and every living creature that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28 AMP).
Before God created the earth, He created the angels, and of them all, Lucifer—meaning light bringer—was the most beautiful (Ezekiel 28:13-17). Because of his beauty, he became proud and rebellious against God. He became satan, the self-centered man adversary; the deceiver.
The Bible indicates that the emergence of the devil was a kind of “reverse metamorphosis” that occurred when Lucifer fell into eternal ruin through his own rebellious choice. When Adam and Eve chose to obey him instead of God, they handed their God-given dominion over creation to satan, and placed themselves under his rebellious, hate-filled domination.
In the beginning God created the beauty and richness oflife. Rebellioncreatedthepovertyandhorror of death. God is light, and gives us light from Himself. Rebellion introduced the darkness of evil.
Darkness is the absence of light Death is the absence of life Evil is the absence of righteousness.
Lucifer became satan because he refused rightness and obedience. In Eden, humankind empowered the devil by refusing the light and life of God. The same is true today.
FROM DR. DIXIE: Infinite Grace Ministries is growing again! As a result of the devastating stroke that knocked me off my feet four years ago, I have been unable to take care of the details involved in operating this ministry. Our Board of Directors is being rebuilt, and a plan is in place to bring this essential ministry actively into our communities again. Ministry appointments are available with Dr. Dixie, Robert Huckleberry and Ellen Vanderveer. Call 580 774 2884 and talk to Kendra about dates and times.
