The God Who Brings Good Out of Bad

Today I will be sharing excerpts from chapter 27 of Randy Alcorn’s book If God Is Good. This chapter takes a closer look into the God who brings good out of bad.

As a reminder, you can find posts of previous chapters under the heading Bible Studies in the menu above. Unless otherwise noted, the Scriptures Alcorn uses are from the NIV.

God Explains His Reason

God never needs to justify his actions to his created beings, However, he graciously explains the reason he permits evil. It is to glorify himself by demonstrating to his children the wonders of his character. Paul rights,

“What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory?” Romans 9:22-23

God says he shows patience to those whom he will ultimately judge. He shows his wrath, power, and patience to unbelievers, “to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.”

The objects of God’s mercy are his redeemed people. By permitting evil to continue until the final judgment, God reveals to us his attributes. This passage parallels Ephesians 2:7, which adds that God’s saving work in Christ, including his resurrection triumph, happened “In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

God’s glory is the highest good of the universe. We glorify him as his children when we see the wondrous realities of his character. God knows that permitting evil and suffering and paying the price to end them, as well as patiently delaying judgment and then bringing it decisively, will all ultimately reveal his character and cause his people to worship him forever.

God’s Purpose Triumphs

Satan and God intend the same suffering for entirely different purposes, but God’s purpose triumphs!

Satan sought Job’s ruin and loss of faith. God sought Job’s refining and faith-building. The very thing Satan intended for Job’s destruction, God intended for his betterment and ultimate reward (though certainly at a terrible cost).

2 Corinthians 12:7 gives us a striking picture. We see God sending a physical disability for his purposes and Satan sending the same disability for his. Paul stated,

“To keep me from being conceited because of these unsurpassable great revelations, there was given to me a thorn in my flesh.”

If the text stopped here, it would be obvious who gave the thorn in the flesh. It was God, who wanted to keep Paul from becoming conceited. Certainly, the devil would not lift a finger to prevent Paul from becoming conceited. But Paul continues to describe the thorn in the flesh as “a messenger of Satan to torment me.”

Two supernatural beings, adamantly opposed to each other, are said in a single verse to have distinct purposes in sending Paul a thorn in the flesh.

• God’s purpose is not to torment him but to keep him from becoming conceited.
• Satan’s purpose is to torment him, likely in the hope of turning him from God.

Whose purpose will be accomplished?

Paul says, in the next verse, that he asked God three times to remove the “thorn,” but God refused. He did, however, reveal the purpose behind Paul’s unanswered prayer: “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.” How did Paul respond? He said he rejoiced in his afflictions because he knew God had a sovereign and loving purpose for him.

God Intends it for Good

The brothers of Joseph intended his suffering for evil.	God intended it for good.
Satan intended Job’s suffering for evil.	God intended it for good.
Satan intended Jesus’ suffering for evil.	God intended it for good.
Satan intended Paul’s suffering for evil.	God intended it for good.

In each case above, God’s purpose prevailed.

Therefore, never forget that Satan hates your guts and intends your suffering for evil. However, our Creator God intends it for good!

• Whose purpose in your suffering will prevail?
• Whose purpose are you furthering?

God’s Sovereignty Over Satan

Satan attempts to destroy your faith, while God invites you to draw near to him and draw upon his sovereign grace to sustain you. If we recognize God’s sovereignty even over Satan’s work, it changes our perspective.

Some Christians constantly assign this mishap to Satan, another one to evil people, yet another to themselves, and still others to God. Sometimes they are right, but how can they be sure which is which?

Second Corinthians 12 makes clear that God works through everything that comes our way, no matter whom it comes from. If God can use for good “a messenger of Satan,” then surely he can use for good a car accident or your employer’s unreasonable expectations.

Think about this for a moment. You might not know whether:

have brought about your disease, but you know as much as you need to. You know that God is sovereign, and whether he heals your body now or waits until the resurrection to heal you, he desires to achieve his own good purpose in you.

God’s Relationship to Evil

Scripture uses a variety of terms to describe God’s relationship to evil, including permit and allow.

Exodus 21:12-13 – “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. ¹³ However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.”

Moses doesn’t write that God causes the accident, but rather he “lets it happen.”

Mark 5:12-13 – In this passage, we find a similar language “The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.’ ¹³ He gave them permission…”

Ezekiel 20:26 – God had a good purpose even in permitting terrible sin. “I pronounced them unclean because of their offerings [to their idols], in that they made all their firstborn pass through the fire [as pagan sacrifices] so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.” (AMP)

Sometimes God inhibits demonic and human choice by not permitting them to fulfill their evil desire.

• Jacob said of Laban: “…God has not allowed him to harm me.” – Genesis 31:7
• God tells Abimelech: “…Yes, I know … so I have kept you from sinning against me.” – Genesis 20:6
• When casting out demons, Jesus “…rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.” Luke 4:41

God Permits What He Hates at Times

I have heard people argue against saying “God allows” because they think “God causes” is more accurate but Scripture uses both kinds of language and so should we.

The author brings out the point that he is deliberately focusing on God’s permission rather than God’s decrees or ordination because it is common ground for different theological persuasions but then he goes on to state that his larger reason is that he wants to make the rarely understood point that divine permission is not passive and weak, but active and strong. The more power someone has, the more significant permission-giving becomes.

Countless millions of choices and actions are contemplated every instant across the globe. Our all-knowing and all-powerful God chooses exactly which ones he will permit and not permit. Scripture suggests he does not permit evils arbitrarily but with specific purposes in mind. Everything He permits matches up with His wisdom and ultimately serves both His Holiness and His love.

God “permitting” something, then, describes what is far stronger than it may sound. After all, whatever God permits actually happens; what he doesn’t permit doesn’t happen. And as Joni Erickson Tada puts it “God permits what he hates to achieve what he loves.”[1]

The Book of Job

Yet he doesn’t say Job’s friends comforted Job over all the trouble they supposed the Lord had brought upon him. The inspired wording indicates that Satan’s efforts were, indirectly by means of his sovereign permission, God’s doing.

Many find this truth disturbing but properly understood it should be comforting. What should be disturbing is the notion that God stands passively by while Satan, evildoers, diseases, and random accidents, ruin the lives of his beloved children.

Human Choices, Cannot Thwart God’s Sovereign Plan

Human choices, real as they are, cannot thwart God’s sovereign plan. C. S. Lewis wrote,

“Perhaps we do not realize the problem, so to call it, of enabling finite free wills to co-exist with the Omnipotence. It seems to involve at every moment almost a sort of ‘divine abdication.’” [2]

Scripture indicates that when an omnipotent God grants real and effectual choice, he does not lose power. He delegates power, which can be and regularly is abused. Yes, he can still overrule, he can perform miracles of intervention. But if he does this too often, he will take back the power he has delegated, thus minimizing the consequential dimension that makes choice meaningful

Consider the Following Business Analogy

Before sin, God gave people dominion over the world. And delegating this responsibility, God acted like a father who started a great business, then handed over the company to his children. Though he remains his owner, controller, and final decision-maker, he has granted leadership powers to his children. Consequently, he chooses to subject his company to their decisions, good or bad. If he intervenes to stop all the bad ones, he revokes his charge to them.

Now suppose the manager of the universe can do what a human father could never do. He sovereignly uses every decision, right or wrong, to accomplish an ultimate purpose. Could he not then be seen to maintain control even as he apparently abdicates it?

Randy Alcorn thinks this is what scripture teaches. Alcorn asks:

“Do we believe human agents who violate God’s moral will can frustrate his ultimate intentions and plans? Do we believe that in the instant a teenager takes his eyes off the road, swerves and hits someone’s daughter while she waits for a school bus, that all the good things God had planned for that girl forever dissolve into nothingness? Or do we believe that God has a plan even in that dark moment?”

God at Times Uses Evil Spirits for His Purposes

God sometimes uses evil spirits to accomplish his purpose. Critics argue that the Bible contradicts itself because 2 Samuel 24:1 says, “God incited David to take a census of Israel” while 1 Chronicles 21:1 says, “Satan’s prompted David’s decision.” Which is correct?

They both are.

In fact, three times scripture says God sent evil spirits.

“God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek. ²⁴ God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelek and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.” – Judges 9:23-24

“Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, ‘See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better…’” – 1 Samuel 16:14-23

Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’

“One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. “‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. “‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’

“So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.” – 1 Kings 22:19-23

We’re told of some rebellious people that “God sends them a strong delusion” through demons. 2 Thessalonians 2: 11-12

Here again, God does no evil but still uses evil demons who are doing what they want to bring judgment on evil people. Alcorn states he would never have come up with such an idea on his own and would not believe it, except for the fact that God’s word reveals it therefore he submits to its authority and adjusts his theology accordingly as should everyone. As should each one of us.

“What If” and “If Only”

No matter what we mean by free will, we should distinguish it from autonomy. Autonomy speaks of complete independence and self-governance. This does not square with God’s sovereignty. None of our actions lie outside the reach of his governance. For this, we should feel deeply grateful. Otherwise, we could wonder what if…

• the doctor had run the right tests or looked at the X-rays more carefully two years ago
• I’d stop to make the phone call or
• the line had been shorter at the grocery store or
• I hadn’t had that 5-minute conversation before leaving…

…then I wouldn’t have been at the intersection when the drunk driver ran the light and smashed my car, and then my wife wouldn’t have died.

If the world is as random as some theologians suggest, it would seem that people, demons, and luck determine our destinies. We can drive ourselves crazy with such thoughts or embrace God’s higher purpose in painful and even tragic events, thus affirming God’s greatness. God calls us not to victimization or to fatalism, but to faith in his character and promises.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

The context shows that the Holy Spirit’s main concern is conforming God’s children to the image of Christ. He brings challenging circumstances into our lives so we may develop Christlikeness.

Paul’s use of the words “we know” indicates that if you don’t know this, you know less than God intends you to; and when times of evil and suffering come, you’ll be ill-equipped to face them.

Alcorn believes that if God could not use something, in eternity, to contribute to the good of his child, then he will not permit it to happen. Alcorn also states that he knows of no other way to interpret this passage, written in a context of profound evil and suffering. It does not say God causes some or most things to work for our good, but all things and what does “all things” not include?

Romans 8:28 declares a compilation and ultimate good, not an individual or immediate good. Different translations of Romans 8:28 suggest different nuances:

• ESV/KJV – “All things work together for good”
• NIV/NASB – “In all things, God works for the good”
• NLT – “God causes everything to work together for the good”
• TLB – “All that happens to us is working for our good”

In each case, there is an all-inclusiveness in “all things.” Three of these translations use “together,” emphasizing a focus not on isolated events in the believer’s life but on the thumb of all events. It does not say “each thing by itself is good,” but “all things work together for good,” and not on their own, but under God’s sovereign hand.

A Cake Analogy

Baking powder, baking soda, raw eggs, vanilla extract, etcetera. He discovered that almost everything that goes into a cake tastes terrible by itself. However, when his mom mixed the ingredients together in the right amounts and baked them together, the cake tasted delicious. Yet judging by the taste of individual ingredients, he never would have believed the cake could taste so good.

In a similar way the individual ingredients of trials and apparent tragedies, taste bitter to us. Romans 8:28 doesn’t tell me I should say, “It is good,” if:

• I break my leg,
• my house burns down,
• I am robbed and beaten,
• my child dies, etc.

But no matter how bitter the taste of the individual components, God can carefully measure out and mix all ingredients together, and raise the temperature in order to produce a wonderful final product.

When Paul says, “for good,” he clearly implies final or ultimate good, not good subjectively felt during our sufferings. As his wife, Joy, underwent cancer treatments, C. S. Lewis wrote to a friend,

“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”[3]

We define our good in terms of what brings us health and happiness now.

God defines it in terms of what makes us more like Jesus.

Romans 8:29

As a young Christian Alcorn believed that going to Heaven instead of Hell was all that mattered. But as he read the Bible, he saw that to be called according to God’s purpose is to be conformed to the character of Christ. God’s purpose for our suffering is Christlikeness. That is our highest calling. If God answered all our prayers to be delivered from evil and suffering, then he would be delivering us from Christlikeness. But Christlikeness is something to long for, not to be delivered from.

When a sovereign, all-powerful God predestines our conformity to Christ, all the evil and suffering that intrude upon our lives form part of that plan.

Our doctrine of human free will must never lead us to believe that God cannot act unless we give him permission. Although we have a real ability to choose (for God has made it so), he will still accomplish his purposes.

Everything that comes into your life, including evil and suffering is Father filtered. Whether suffering brings us to Christlikeness depends, to some degree, upon our willingness to submit to God and trust him and draw our strengths from him. Suffering will come whether we allow it to make us Christ-like or not. However, if we don’t, suffering is wasted.

God’s Greatness Displayed

God wondrously displays his greatness when he brings good out of bad. We judge someone’s greatness by the size of the obstacles he overcomes. Climbing Mount Everest brings glory to the climber and testifies to his greatness precisely because of the mountain’s enormity.

So it is, with the drama of redemption. Sin and death, the Fall and the Curse, Satan and his demons, the Hell we deserve,- what powerful obstacles for God to overcome. But the biggest obstacle was the satisfaction of his own holiness. For God to demonstrate his greatness, he had to overcome all these obstacles. The greater the obstacles, the greater the glory to God. To redeem what appears irredeemable magnifies the greatness of the Redeemer.

Every time we ask God to remove some obstacle in our lives, we should realize we may be asking him to forgo one more opportunity to declare his greatness. Certainly, he sometimes graciously answers our prayers to relieve our suffering. This too testifies to his greatness, and we should praise him for answering, but when he answers no, we should recognize that he desires to demonstrate his greater glory. May we then bend our knees and trust His sovereign grace.

End Notes

[1] Joni Erickson Tada and Steven Estes, When God Weeps (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1997 ), 83

[2] C. S.  Lewis “The Efficacy of Prayer” The World’s Last Night And Other Essays, (Harvest Books, 2002), 7.

[3] C. S. Lewis, Letters of C. S. Lewis (Orlando; Harcourt Books, 1966), 477.