By Tom Shanklin

Last month our nation was shocked by a shooting rampage in Connecticut which left 28 people dead, including 20 young children. Many have blamed God for the incident, as though He is responsible for men’s dastardly deeds and foolish ways. “Where was God?” they ask.

But the thing that they fail to realize is that not only is there a God in heaven, but there is also a devil who is hard at work on the earth, inspiring evil and seeking to kill, steal and destroy. As long as human beings choose to yield to Satan’s bidding, we will continue to see evil at work in the earth.

The Scriptures tell us that in the beginning when God created man He gave him “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over the whole earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth.” (Gen. 1:26) I have never read anywhere in the Word of God where God ever withdrew the dominion of the earth from man.

When we see evil in the world, we must understand that these things come not because God wills them, or causes them, or even allows them (except in the sense that God allows man to choose his own destiny). God gave us a free will. It is up to us what we do with it. Therefore man’s wrong choices produce wrong results.

Here’s a couple of other thoughts along this line. First, the Bible calls Satan “the god of this world.” (1 John 4:4) Ever since Adam sold out to the devil and obeyed him rather than God, Satan has been reigning in the hearts of unregenerate people. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, but God leased it out to man, who then yielded himself to the evil one. As the scripture says, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” Psalms 115:16, KJV.

Second, Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a seed, a very small thing that grows and takes over. So Jesus came to plant a seed that would eventually bring forth the Kingdom (or dominion) of God. Eventually God’s dominion will take over, but in this present time there is a warfare going on between good and evil, the forces of God and the forces of Satan.

So now we as believers in Christ are called to bring forth the Kingdom. As Jesus said, we are to pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.” This scripture alone should be enough to make us understand that God’s will is not automatically being done in the earth. God’s will is done as people pray and yield themselves to Him by making Jesus the Lord of their lives. Through Satan’s work, evil is in the heart of man. Only the Gospel can drive that out and bring the much-needed change to the earth.

While there may be some things that we can do in the natural to prevent tragedy, what is needed most is change in the heart of man. You and I as Christian believers are part of the equation. As we yield ourselves to God and live holy lives, as we pray for our neighbors, our families and our nation, and as we share the glorious Gospel of Christ, we have the capacity to bring that change to the earth.

God has a plan to deal with Satan’s destructive works. As the Scripture says, “…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8, KJV. So we see that God’s answer to the evil that is in the world is first of all…Jesus. He sent His Son to destroy the works of the devil. Through the redemptive work of His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Satan has been legally defeated. Now this defeat must be enforced by the Church.

So secondly, God’s answer to the evil of this world is the Body of Christ. We are to yield ourselves to God and exercise the authority of Christ in our families, communities, and throughout the world. Evil will not be completely destroyed until the end of the age, but you and I can make an impact today as we yield ourselves to God, pray, and do the work of taking the Gospel to the world!