"The Lord is righteous in all his ways..." Psalm 145:17 Some reading this would say, "then why is there such evil in the world?" We have to start with the Word God has given us before we can even think to proceed. God says that all of his ways are righteous. If one doesn't believe that, he needs to stop here and meditate on it, asking the Lord to shed light on it, because many doubt it. When one is tempted to not believe the Word of God, he needs to deal with that. It's unbelief, an insult to the Creator. Every Word of God is true. Disagreeing with it is unbelief. Would a man dare say to the God of the universe, "You're wrong, and here's why...!" "The Lord is righteous in all his ways..." Psalm 145:17 Can you imagine a world in which everything was perfect? There IS a world like that, and the Word of God calls it "heaven." That's where the believer will abide forever, in a world that has no suffering, no pain, no loss, no sickness, no grief. God could have made this world on earth like heaven, why didn't he? Well ...he DID. The record of the creation is contained in the first chapter of the Bible's first book, the Book of Genesis. It is notable that after each of what God created, he said it was "good." It WAS perfect. Everything in the world was good. What happened? There is an enemy, filled with hatred for God. Satan was created perfect and given a high position among the angels of heaven. After awhile his beauty and his power led to pride. And after pride, came the idea that he would be able to become as God, and he amassed a third of the angels in heaven to a revolt against God thinking to take first place for himself. For this act of rebellion, he was cast out of heaven along with those who followed him. And ever since then he has been filled with rage against the God he could not topple, and fury against the God who banished him from heaven. In his hatred he seeks to destroy everything and everyone God loves. God created mankind and put him on earth in a place of perfection called "Eden." It was GOOD. It was perfect. But Satan does all he can to pervert it, in his hatred of anything or anyone that God loves. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat of all the fruits and produce from their surroundings, except for one, the one God called "The tree of knowledge of good and evil." It wasn't an apple. It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And that's where Satan struck. God had said that if they ate from that one tree, they would die. But Satan told them that the Word of God was NOT TRUE: “You will NOT surely die! For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, AND YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 That aroused Eve's curiosity. What would it be like to be AS GOD? She believed what Satan said to her and she took the fruit and ate it. Then she brought it to Adam and told him what was said, and Adam ate of it. If you were to ask people what the first sin recorded in the Bible was, most would say it was eating of the fruit that was forbidden. No, the first sin was disbelieving what God said. And that's the sin that will cause many to fall. This is the great sin of mankind, disbelieving what God has said. Satan will always whisper to people that what God said about this, that, or the other - "isn't true." And that's where evil comes into our world. Today, the world is steeped in unimaginable evil and evil always comes from disbelief of what God has said. The sin of disbelief has brought onto this world all the evils you see in it. God did not cause the evil - Satan causes it by telling people ever so gently and with a smile that what God has said simply "isn't true" but that whatever the person is tempted with is actually good and will bring pleasure. He does not tell the person what the result will be. If he did, no one would sin would they? No, he presents something to be desired and tells the person only of the pleasure it will bring. "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust AND ENTICED. Then, when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death." James 1:13-15 The result will be death in many ways, in relationships, in sickness, in tragedy, in deception, and in all that Satan can destroy, and then physical death at the end. Death is always the end result of sin. "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23 The Word of God says "The Lord is righteous in all his ways." But he allows all to have free will. He doesn't want robots. He wants those who will choose him and believe him and refuse the lies of the enemy, those who will worship him and him alone, in spirit and in TRUTH. "...the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and TRUTH.” John 4:23-24 It's your choice.
"Now it happened, as we went to prayer,
that a certain slave girl possessed
with a spirit of divination met us,
who brought her masters much profit
by fortune-telling."
Acts 16:16
Scripture makes it clear that demon spirits are real. This girl was a fortune-teller and was obviously very good at it because it says she brought her masters much profit through her fortune-telling, yet it was the demon spirit that empowered her to speak. After it was cast out, she was no longer able to tell fortunes.
Notice that what the girl said was accurate:
vs 17:
"This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying,
'These men are the servants of the Most High God,
who proclaim to us the way of salvation.'”'
So evil spirits can accurately divulge information. But Paul discerned this to be a demon spirit and he cast it out of her. Then she was no longer able to tell fortunes, because her source, the demon, the spirit, was cast out.
Today as we draw near to the end of the age, supernaturalism is infesting the entire world. Mediums and channelers are in every city. The book "Harry Potter" opened up witchcraft to our children and many went on to delve more deeply into the world of the occult, opening doors to demonic bondage.
The whole realm of the occult is absolutely forbidden to us by the Word of God. It always - ALWAYS - brings a curse on the one delving into any part of it no matter how benign it seems, no matter how "innocent." Satan doesn't care how you open doors to let him in, he only cares that you open them.
The Word of God tells us that many times the curse coming upon those who open these doors is so terrible that it is carried down to the third and even the fourth generation of those who involve themselves in it.
Numbers 4:18, Exodus 34:7
The most typical effects of the curse are premature death and mental illness. When you see a family with multiple members unexpectedly dying young especially in accidents or suicide, careful investigation will oftentimes reveal that the person or one of his/her parents or grandparents were involved in some form of occultism. When you see a family with multiple members afflicted with mental illness, it is oftentimes traceable to occult involvement. Not always. But many times.
Getting free from the curse of these things is often very difficult, the enemy will put up a fight, but it can be done. It necessitates total humility before the Lord, total surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, and confession of the sins which brought the destruction to the family. The person must rid himself and his home of ALL occult articles, jewelry, and books; these articles are not to be given away lest they spread the curse to someone else, but must be destroyed without regard to the monetary value of them.
"And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
Also, many of those who had practiced magic
brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.
And they counted up the value of them,
and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver."
Acts 19:180-19
If you are praying for someone with this kind of affliction, someone whose eyes are blinded from the truth, ask for mercy and pray that the person's eyes be opened because in many cases the afflicted person has been blinded to the Word of God.
"...whose minds the god of this age has blinded..."
2nd Corinthians 4:4
It will take a great deal of patience, dedication, and persistence to become free from the influence of these things. The Lord will lead and guide anyone seeking to rid himself of those awful bondages that are holding him IF the person is totally repentant and determined to surrender his entire self and life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,
that he might destroy the works of the devil."
1st John 3:8
Jesus came to minister to people like this, he came to heal the brokenhearted, open blind eyes, and set the captive free:
"...he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed;"
Luke 4:1
Let anyone afflicted in this way stand on this passage and seek the Lord with all of your heart. If you do, you will find him.
"In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in his wondrous works. Therefore their days HE consumed in futility, and their years in fear." Psalm 78:32-33 Having seen the wondrous works of God again and again, yet whenever the children of Israel lusted again for something more, God in his mercy provided. It was a constant battle between God's provision versus their lack of appreciation as they wanted yet more and more and more. They just didn't have within themselves the core of faith that would enable them to wait on the Lord who always provides like a father to his child. They wanted what they wanted – now! Finally, after many warnings he gave them over to their lusts and their days were consumed in futility. They chose to not walk by faith, and the result was that their time on this earth was spent in futility. The walk of faith is not easy. There is a constant battle between our inner desire to walk pleasing to the Lord, versus our fallen human nature that wants to satisfy its many desires. "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another..." Galatians 5:17 So it remains to each person to choose which way he will go. Most will go the way of the flesh, and their lives will be consumed in uselessness. Futility. Wasted lives. "Busy" with worthless activity. But for those who truly desire to live a life pleasing to God, and who really want their lives to be effective and productive in him, "how" they ask, "is one able to overcome the lusts of the flesh?" vs 16: "I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." It's not possible for a human being to achieve this, because we live in a fallen human nature and the desires of that nature are strong. But it becomes possible when our lives are SURRENDERED to God and when we truly desire to be filled with his Holy Spirit. This means we have to pursue these ends. It doesn't happen automatically. Surrender is contrary to the flesh. Yet it's the key to blessings unimagined. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, his temptations were not weak, he chose temptations that would be very real, personal, and hard to overcome. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, and Satan said to him that if he truly is the Son of God, go ahead and turn these rocks into bread. Powerful temptation, given when Jesus was already weakened and hungry from a prolonged fast. So HOW did Jesus resist? He resisted by the Word. He answered with Scripture: "But Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.’” Luke 4:4 This is the key. The Word of God has to be the very foundation of our lives, otherwise we will succumb to the flesh and live lives of futility. Immerse yourself in the Word of God, the Bible, daily. It must become your very life. It's the only way you will succeed in living the life ordained by God for you, because your enemy the devil will continually seek to overthrow your faith. He knows you intimately, personally, he knows your weak points, and there he will strike. "Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?' But he gives more grace. Therefore he says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Therefore, SUBMIT TO GOD. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. DRAW NEAR TO GOD ...and he will draw near to you.'" James 4:4-7 The choice is yours. An easy life of futility, or a difficult but productive life with fruit that will last for all eternity.