Daily Word

Who is behind everything that happens—God or the devil?

It is easy to say: “God is behind everything good that happens, and the devil is behind everything evil.”

But is it really that simple?

“Who is there and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?” we read in the Book of Lamentations.

Jeremiah reflects on all the suffering that he himself and Israel have had to endure, and he arrives at the conclusion that God is sovereign. Nothing happens without His permission, and both prosperity and adversity ultimately rest in God’s hands.

“When God wishes to sharpen His children, He lets the devil turn the grindstone,” someone once said. Thus, in order for our Father’s good purposes for us to be fulfilled, even the evil one must serve Him.

Madame Guyon, a believer in 17th-century France who endured immense trials and suffering, says: “Since I love the blows from God, I cannot hate the hand He uses.” Her words echo Psalm 141:5: “Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; it is oil upon the head; do not let my head refuse it.”

All suffering has a purpose, and at times, people—and even the devil—serve merely as instruments in God’s hands. Therefore, if someone treats us poorly, we should not harbour ill will toward them or retaliate.

On the contrary, we should follow Paul’s exhortation: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” We must not let ourselves be overcome by evil, but rather overcome evil with good.

Such conduct truly challenges our natural instinct to strike back or harbour bitterness when we are treated unjustly.

God does not, therefore, expect us to do what comes naturally to us—but rather what is, from a natural perspective, completely impossible—yet entirely possible through the Holy Spirit.

Regardless of who is behind it, the purpose of all suffering and every difficulty is to train us to walk in the Spirit!