The Lord of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned,
    so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
    so shall it stand” (Isaiah 14:24).

The nightly news can discourage us with accounts of violent crime, social injustice, natural calamity, viral disease, global terrorism, and human foolishness.

Evil is real, but it never thwarts God’s ultimate purpose. Despite earthly wrongs, our God reigns. Time and again in Scripture, evil appears to prevail from a human perspective, but God is not dismayed. He is never surprised. He never says, “Oops.”

Never was this more clear than at Christ’s crucifixion. Had you or I stood at the foot of the cross, we would have cried, “God stop this. It is wrong!” It was evil, but it was not wrong. It was God’s intention to offer his Son in sacrifice for our sin (Is. 53:10).

Evil required the work of Jesus but did not negate it – not even for a moment. Though evil persists, this is still our Father’s world. “Although the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler, yet.”

He weans us from the temporal with the consequences of evil, even as he woos us to the eternal with the assurances of Jesus. We would desire no rescue without the world’s evil; we would have no rescue without Jesus.

God’s purposes are never derailed. The proof is the cross. Trust the wisdom, power, and love of the heart that gave Jesus there for us, according to plan.

Prayer:
Father, help me to have trust in your sovereign plan as I live through a fallen world. When the evil threatens to overwhelm my soul, show me Jesus. When I am losing hope, show me Jesus. Every day and for every trial, show me Jesus.