If God Is So Good, Why Is There Evil in the Earth?

I want to deal with a question today that deserves a real answer — not a religious one. Not "God is beyond our understanding" or "who are we to question Him." Those answers don't help anyone, and quite frankly, they're not even true to the Word.

Here's the question: if God is such a loving God, why is there evil in the earth? Why are children born with defects? Why do people starve? Why are there hurricanes, tornadoes, cancer, and calamity?

I've watched people walk away from God over this question in recent years. Pastors, church members, people who were once deeply committed — saying, "If God were real, He would do something. I can't believe in a God who lets this happen." And instead of getting a real answer, they got a religious shrug. That's not good enough. So let me give you the actual answer.

God is not in control — and I can prove it to you.

I know that's going to upset some people. Good. Stay with me.

Has God ever told you to keep your mouth shut, and you opened it anyway? Has He told you not to do something — and you did it anyway? I could raise both hands. I could stand up and jump around based on how many times I've ignored what God told me to do.

So when you say "God is in complete control" — what exactly is He in control of? He can't even get you to do what He says. And you're His own family.

Now, can God be in control of your life? Yes — if you'll let Him. Can He be in control of what happens? Yes — if you cooperate with Him. But you have the right at any time to say no. And so does every other person on this planet.

Could it be that the person who spoke badly about you — God told them to stop, and they said no, just like you've said no to Him? Think about it.

The centurion told Jesus no — and Jesus stopped.

Here's the scriptural proof. Matthew 8:

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed."

Matthew 8:5–8 (NKJV)

Jesus — the Son of the living God, the Creator of all things — said "I'm coming." And the centurion said no. And Jesus stopped.

Who was in control of what Jesus did that day? The centurion. He even defined how the miracle would happen: "Don't come to my house — just speak a word." And Jesus did exactly that. The man told God no, told God how to do it, and God cooperated.

And in Luke 8, a woman with a bleeding condition pushed through a crowd and touched the hem of Jesus's garment. Power flowed out of Him — and He didn't even know who it went to until it was already gone. She drew the power out by her own faith. Jesus didn't send it. He didn't direct it. She did.

Man has dominion here. That's not a limitation of God's power. That's the design.

While God was in control, everything was good.

Go back to Genesis 1. Read it carefully. Every single day of creation, God spoke, it happened, and He looked at it and called it good. Day after day. Good. Good. Good.

While God was in complete authority over the earth, everything He touched was good. There was no sickness, no death, no disaster. No birth defects. No hurricanes. Just good — all of it.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

On the sixth day, God gave man dominion. He handed over the authority. And from that moment forward, what happens in the earth is no longer entirely God's call — it's man's.

Psalm 8 confirms it: God made man a little lower than Himself — the word there is Elohim, not angels, the only place in Scripture it's translated that way — and crowned him with glory and honor, putting all things under his feet. All things. Under man's feet.

While God was in control, everything was good. The moment He gave man dominion, man's choices started determining the outcome.

Man used his dominion to bow the knee to Satan — and that's why everything changed.

God warned Adam clearly: in the day you eat of that tree, you will die. Don't do it. And Adam did it anyway.

That one choice — man bowing his knee to the enemy instead of walking with God — subjected all of creation to death. Not just Adam. All of creation. That is why there are birth defects. That is why there is cancer. That is why tornadoes tear through cities and children starve.

It wasn't God's intention. God said "don't," and man said yes anyway. And the consequence was death — not just for one man, but for the whole planet he was given dominion over.

That's why in the New Testament, Satan is called the god of this world. Not because God appointed him. Because man handed it to him. Man gave away the dominion God had entrusted to him. And the earth has been feeling it ever since.

I remember driving through the Midwest years ago and seeing mountains of grain rotting on the side of the road. I asked someone what was going on. Turns out the government was paying farmers not to sell it on the open market — because selling it would drive grain prices down. In other words, man had the power to feed starving children but chose to protect the price of grain instead.

Why are children starving? Because man valued money over human life. God didn't do that. Man did.

God is still good — and you can still give Him control.

Here's what this means for you practically. God is not your problem. He never has been. He gave man authority, man misused it, and the earth has been reaping those consequences ever since. But that doesn't mean you are powerless.

You can give God control of your life. You can cooperate with Him. You can yield to His Word and walk in His authority — and when you do, the same power that created everything good in those first five days is available to you.

You can say to sickness: not in my house. You can say to financial destruction: not over my life. You can take the authority God gave man — the authority Jesus bought back through the Cross — and use it. And where the enemy has already done damage, you use the name of Jesus to undo it.

This is why I believe in the authority of the believer. This is why I believe in standing on the Word. Not because God is passive — but because He designed this earth to run on man's dominion, and He's given us the tools to exercise it in partnership with Him.

God is still good. He was good before man made a mess of things, and He's been working to restore it ever since. Jesus didn't come to earth to explain why things were broken. He came to fix it — and to put the authority back in the hands of those who would use it for good.

So the next time someone asks you why a good God allows evil in the earth — you have an answer. Not a religious shrug. A real one.

God made everything good. Man threw it away. And God loved us enough to send His Son to give us a way to take it back.

That's not a God who is indifferent to your pain. That's a God who gave everything to make things right again. Give Him control. Work with Him. And watch what He can do.

Fight To Win.