Q7. Weal and Woe

[Pastor Ralph]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God “bring prosperity and create disaster”? Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

[Gerbrand van Schalkwyk]

(Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"? Both prosperity and disaster are for our good. Please note that you can prosper in very hard times as well. Joseph prospered as a slave and in jail although in both cases he had no personal belongings. We must stop looking at material stuff as prosperity, but rather measure our prosperity in Kingdom value.

God wants to draw us into the Kingdom of God. For this He sometimes sanctify is through hard times, and other times discipline us through very difficult times. Sometimes he gives us very hard times to prepare us for a mission He has for us (Joseph / Moses) Joseph was prepared for the purpose of God through his hard times. Yet  i think the prophet refers to prosperity here as good - wealthy times, and disaster as hard times, thus the answer is that prosperity is to bless us with material wealth and the disaster is to bless us with sanctification (also see Job) or discipline (See David).

Is God the source of evil?

No

Of trouble?

Yes, He will bring us hard times if it is for our benefit or if He wants to prepare us for His work - what a blessing.

Of prosperity?

Yes, both material and Kingdom - spiritual

Of poverty?

Material - yes, spiritual / Kingdom - No

In what sense is he responsible for these?

He is in total control, yet He does give us free choice in some areas.

In what sense are we responsible for these things?

Sin = discipline. Bad / wrong character = sanctification.

Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

Be obedient and make ourselves available for His work in our life. We must also trust Him and praise Him in both the good and the bad. There is a group called Bibleknowledge, they have a beautiful saying:

 

Happy Moments, Praise God
Difficult Moments, Seek God
Quiet Moments, Worship God
Painful Moments, Trust God
Every Moment, Thank God

[IvoryEagle]

In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"?   AS DEMONSTRATED WITH PHARAOH  GOD CAN AND WILL CREATE AND/OR ALLOW DISASTER TO GAIN THE ATTENTION OF ONE WHO DOES NOT RECOGNIZE HIS POWER UP TO AND INCLUDING KILL THE FIRST BORN.

 

Is God the source of evil? SOMETIMES.  IT IS NOT PERCEIVED AS EVIL SINCE IT IS DESIGNED TO BRING HIS PEOPLE UNDER SUBMISSION BUT IT CERTAINLY FEELS EVIL TO THE RECIPIENT.

 

 

Of trouble? Yahweh is the Initiator and the Determiner of man's future for good or for ill. Therefore, to worship him is very much in one's best interest.

 

 

 

Of prosperity? Yahweh is the Initiator and the Determiner of man's future for good or for ill. Therefore, to worship him is very much in one's best interest.

 

 

 

Of poverty?  Yahweh is the Initiator and the Determiner of man's future for good or for ill. Therefore, to worship him is very much in one's best interest.

 

 

In what sense is he responsible for these? Yahweh is the Initiator and the Determiner of man's future for good or for ill. Therefore, to worship him is very much in one's best interest.

 

 

 

In what sense are we responsible for these things? DISOBEDIENCE AND/OR DISRESPECT

 

 

Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing? STRIVING TO STAY IN HIS WILL

[charisbarak]

He allows these things to take place.

God is not the source of bad things, sin is. God allows these things to happen for His purposes.

He blesses us with good things. He is the source of blessing.

God's responsibility is His will. He, alone, sees the big picture. He can use all these things for his greater purposes and to refine us. (Job)

Our responsibility is to stay as close to Him as we can, obeying Him, knowing He wants the very best for us.

Keep praying & praising. Help uplift and encourage our brothers & sisters in the Lord.

[angelbaby]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"?

When God allows disaster to strike, it’s always for the purpose of getting people to acknowledge him so that you will enjoy the blessings he has given us in Jesus

: God allows these messes so that people will acknowledge him. And why wouldn’t we want to acknowledge the Lord? He has summoned us by name, as he did Cyrus. When? Where? At the baptismal font. There, God put his name on us and took hold of us forever. So whether it’s prosperity or disaster we face, we have to  give thanks to the Lord,. For in Jesus we have sure riches that wait for us in heaven. 

Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things?

NO. God is not the author of evil (James 1:13). When we are self-indulgent and do things that are not pleasing to God,it is not  Gods doing. God did not prompt Hitler and Stalin to do what they did.

We are each responsible for our own sins. Yet, even then God turns our self-made difficulties to good. The ultimate example is how God used the jealousy of the Jewish leaders and the cowardice of Pilate to secure payment for our sins when Jesus died on the cross. 

  Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

Our God is all powerful ..He is the only true God and we are His chosen people, His children  therefore we should live only to please Him.. Whatever we have is given by HIM ..all our successes , our job, our position , our financial circumstances are all his giving ..nothing is earned by us though we may feel it is the result of our hard work.

Therefore we are to give thanks to him in all circumstances...rejoice in the Lord always.

Praise Him. Worship Him. Read His Word. Obey His commands and Live for Him and the hope of eternal life.

 
 

[antonate]

God brings prosperity for those obey his word and choose to live a life pleasing to him. He can bring disaster to make a person to turn away from sin and bring to the Knowledge of Him.

 

God is not the source of evil, poverty or trouble. The word of God says in Romans 6: 23--the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. The consequence of sin is trouble and evil and accepting Jesus as Lord and abiding in Jesus results in abundant life.

 

we should fear the Lord and choose to trust in him alone. we should not lean on our own understanding but acknowldege  him in all our ways. we should surrender our will and our plans to God and allow him to establish his ways and thoughts over our lives. we should allow him to take complete control of our lives and love him and live according to his word. we should be his instruments to establish His kingdom on earth.

[JanMary]

On 8/1/2013 at 10:18 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

 

 

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God “bring prosperity and create disaster”?

God is Sovereign. We live in a fallen world. Adam relinquished the earth's management to Satan, at the fall. Jesus redeemed ownership through His work on the cross, for believers to exercise His authority over Satan, who is the author of confusion, evil, trouble and disaster all of which continue to exist in the world. God can bring prosperity through showing favor and blessing. He can create disaster by allowing or not preventing disaster, either natural or by allowing it. Psalm 119:91 says that ALL THINGS SERVE GOD...even the entire Universe. (So even Satan who hates God and believers, ends up serving God's higher purposes, in spite of his evil intent.)

Is God the source of evil? Of trouble?

No, He is never the source of evil, but He will allow those things if they will accomplish His purposes for good.(He promises to work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. (Rom 8:28) We are to pray this world  comes  into conformity with His Kingdom, rather than to ignore evil. (If He were the source of evil and disaster, we would be in sin to oppose, resist  or to pray to be spared from those things.)

Of prosperity?

God owns all of the wealth..."the cattle on a thousand hills"... He rewards or prospers as He sees fit and as we are able to handle it. He promises to meet all  believer's needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus...(He still honors his promise to prosper the Jews under the old covenant...Many of the world's most wealthy people are Jew's, such as the owner/founder of Facebook, a multi-billionaire 25 year old, who says he has no idea why he is being prospered!)

Of poverty?

God desires to bless, and promises to provide for believer's needs, but not that we will all be rich, though many are and use their wealth to better other's lives!  Some poverty is the consequence of how money is mishandled, or misspent, ignorance, immaturity etc. and is spoken of as a curse in scripture, God is not the author of it.

 In what sense is he responsible for these?

He is Sovereign! He has told us to ask, seek and knock. Prayer changes things, and since He owns it all, and longs to bless us, He is responsible as our Father to provide. Sometimes, we have not because we ask not, or ask with wrong motives.

In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

I don't believe God is the author of disaster in believer's lives. We suffered catastrophic losses which some might view as God bringing disaster, but the losses were due to a downturn in the economy but has been the means of our finding true intimacy with our God! We are responsible to earn a living, and to submit ourselves to His Lordship. We are to use His wisdom in how our money is spent and to be good stewards. (He owns it all, but lets us use 90% as we give Him the first 10% or more) He encourages us to tithe and to give offerings and to assist those less fortunate and to practice generosity.

We are to live in His peace and rest, (He is my shepherd, who feeds, leads, shelters and protects me! Ps 23) trusting Him in all things, and not living in fear that He is going to heap disaster upon us!

[hanks]

Q7. (Isaiah 45:7b)

In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"?

Is God the source of evil?

Of trouble?

Of prosperity?

Of poverty?

In what sense is he responsible for these?

In what sense are we responsible for these things?

Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

We have all been given freedom of choice - otherwise we would be mere robots. It is through our evil sinful nature that we are the source of all evil; God Himself is never the source of evil. The sins and wickedness of our world are the real evils and they are the opposite of the works of the Spirit. In our world today we have the sins of sensuality, ****, selfishness, cruelty, injustice, and oppression all being rampant. However, God can use these sins to accomplish His purposes. Otherwise, He is sovereign and is in control of all that happens – light (life), darkness (death), prosperity and disaster. He is our Heavenly Father and does love us and care for us. 

 

 

[wjcargile]

1. God brings us prosperity and create disaster: We are blessed in knowing Him and also with material things, and good health. God can bring disaster when we start to put things and others ahead of Him. All can be lost in a second. We have seen His Blessings. Also disaster, the results of storms, fires, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes.

2. God is not the source of evil: (James 1:13)

3. Of trouble: Yes, He allows us to have an awake call when we are out of His will.

4. Of poverty: JESUS said "you will always have the poor with you."

5. In what sense is He resposible for all these things? He is GOD, He is responsible for all things. He allows things to happen, He knows all things.

6.In what sense are we responsible for these things? Many time we are not responsible when trouble and poverty comes our way. Trouble is unpredicted. We can stay alert by always trusting in our GOD.

7. We know that GOD is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing? Worshiping Him and placing all of our faith and trust in Him.

[haar]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"? Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?
 

 

 

This is a difficult question and confusing. But what James says is that God is not evil and does  not cause evil. That is, He is the only Being that has the ability to bring about prosperity or disaster.

 

He is not a source of disaster but allows disaster as a punishment for our sin or to teach us or train us through the experience for our spiritual growth and maturity.

 

We should therefore ensure that we cling unto God for peace, prosperity and general well being so as to avoid any evil such disaster, 

[Squirt]

Q7. (Isaiah 45:7b) In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"?
    He has sovereignty over both.  
    In the case of Job, for example, God allowed Satan to test Job, though He placed limits on what Satan could do.  Had God rejected Satan’s request to test Job, no testing would have occurred.
    Job did not know that it was his faithfulness that was being tested, nor that his actions would decide a victory between good and evil in heavenly places.  It was His love for God that was at the heart of his trouble, and his victory over the forces of evil was also God’s victory: Job did not curse God as Satan claimed that he would.

    Romans 11:36  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Is God the source of evil?
    In Him there is no darkness.
James 1:13  No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone.
    
Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these?    
    He allows troubles in our lives when they are needed for Him to bring us to where He wants us to be.  The Israelites are a prime example: they turned to idolatry and they refused to listen to His repeated calls for repentance and a return to serving Him.  So He withdrew from them and left them vulnerable.   Their enemies became the instrument of God in His attempts to turn His people back to Him.
    He allows trials in our lives for correction and also for strengthening.

 In what sense are we responsible for these things?
    We bring trouble upon ourselves through disobedience, through sin, through apathy toward our spiritual growth.

Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?
    Psalm 100:4  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.    Praise and worship Him, follow where He leads.
 

 

[Delivered]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"?  God brought forth His laws, a "LIGHT" before me, for they are given for "MY WELL BEING" so that my soul may prosper and be in health, avoiding the disaster, the distress that disobedience of sin may bring.

 

Is God the source of evil, trouble, prosperity, and of poverty? God will bring distress (evil) to those who do not put their trust in Him, that he has their "well being" in mind in order for them to prosper, instead of facing the opposite, that of trials, and disappointments, the consequences of sin.

 

In what sense is he responsible for these? He is a Holy God who calls his people to walk in obedience so they may "PROSPER"

 

In what sense are we responsible for these things? We who are faithful have a great responsibility to walk in the light of God's grace and mercy - for there is coming a day when great "EVIL" – “DISTRESS” - will fall on the earth – that of God's judgment.

 

Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing? We should be a faithful and holy people, a prosperous people whose lives give praise to God for sending to us His Son.

 

 

 

[Guitar Jim]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God “bring prosperity and create disaster”?

 

Circumstances both good and bad happen to people both good and bad. The Bible says God causes the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. In everything God is working out His long term plans to make everything right. Nothing occurs that is not under God's sovereign control. We have natural disasters and man-made disasters such as war. We have people doing good to others and people doing unspeakable evil to others. The world, creation itself, is under a curse because of sin. Therefore bad things will happen. God doesn't directly cause them but He allows them to happen. The Bible says God doesn't want anyone to perish but for everyone to be saved. Through calamity and disaster God is wanting people to turn to Him. Instead we have people cursing God because of them and proclaiming that no God could let such bad things happen if He loved them. It's not that simple. We can't know the mind of God.

God does punish evil in the world and sometimes it's easy to see that, while at other times we wonder why God allowed terrible things to happen to those whom we consider good people. All things work together for good for those who love God. Perhaps a bad thing may happen to save us from a worse thing? A flat tire may save you from a multi-vehicle pile-up.

 

 

 

Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these?

 

God has sovereign control over everything but in this present age Satan has a certain degree of control over what happens here on earth. Satan is the source of evil, which sprang forth when he rebeled against God. Everything that is wrong in the world is because the world is tainted by sin. Mankind fell back in the garden of Eden. We've inherited that sin, that taint.

God allows trouble, poverty, etc to exist so that people will come to Him for help. If everything was laid out in abundance, in the present age with Satan still on the loose, no one would worship God or seek Him because no one would feel the need to.

 

 

 

In what sense are we responsible for these things?

 

We, as descendants of Adam and Eve, are fallen sinners. Even when we become Christains and are born again of the Spirit, we still inhabit our flesh and are still subject to the world's curse. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say we're NOT directly responsible for evil, trouble, poverty, etc, but we have inherited the curse from our ancestors and while we live on earth these things will continue to happen. They're beyond our control

 

 

Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

 

We should be doing our best to stay on His good side. Believe in Jesus as our Savior and do the will of God as it's laid out in the Bible and be led by the Holy Spirit at all times. Live lives surrendered to God's will and purpose. Bad things will still happen but with God's Spirit inside us we can cope a lot better that if we just rely on the spirit of the world.

 

[Lion of Grace]

Wow! I found these difficult questions!

 

God is not the source of evil but He can "allow" trouble to accomplish His purposes or to grow us or even to turn us back to Him.

 

He is the source of prosperity and poverty. He can give or take away but I don't know as we can judge one as better than the other.There can be curses with riches and blessings in poverty and vice versa. Not everything that looks like a prosperous blessing is a real blessing and what some may see as misfortune, like poverty can actually really be a good place to be. I like to pray on that subject from Proverbs 30:7-9. I think the point is recognizing God as the source of all things whether we are rich or poor. We know He is in control whether we are prospering or not, healthy or sick, happy or sad or in any circumstance. I just think that we can not understand the mind of God and what He is doing all the time, but we can understand He is sovereign. 

 

Sometimes though, it is called to our attention that we are responsible for some of these misfortunes because of sin. God gives us a "wake up" call through some kind of trouble and we are stopped to turn to listen to Him.

 

All in all, we should be paying attention to what God is doing in our lives and we should be in tune with Him, abiding in Him, asking the way, desiring wisdom and for Him to reveal our shortcomings. If we do this, we will be given better discernment as to what He is doing in our lives good or bad.

[Jen]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"? Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

 

God does bless us.  He is our Shepard.  He leads us besides still waters, He restores our soul.  Every perfect gift is from above.  He also allows difficult and sometimes unfathomable (to us)  things to happen to us.  We are here to glorify Him in our lives in what ever way He chooses.

 

We should be loving Him and studying to be more like Jesus.  We should stop being like Peter was and saying this won't happen to You (it wasn't in Peter's plans as Peter saw life with Jesus).  We need to wakeup and realize in this world there will be persecution and distress and suffering.  Suffering means just that, suffering.  I used to read it as a word.  When you start feeling some of the pain of the world you take the word suffering in a different light.  I don't know what is going to happen however I remember the story Corrie Ten Boom told about her father and the train ticket and I know at the right time God will give us all what we need for that moment. 

 

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26

 

[humblejon]

God never created evil nor does He tempts us with evil. God, however, disciplines by allowing us to learn the consequences of our wrong doings or poor choices. If personal calamity occurs, most of the blame falls not on God but of our rebellion or lack of godly wisdom.

The state of our prosperity or poverty is not necessarily the result of God' punishment or reward--but the condition of our existence that has a purpose that only God knows. God always wants us to do our best, but what is also very important is the intent of our endeavors. We should always strive not for selfish gain but to glorify God.

[WinstonY]

Question 7.7

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God" writes John . The poet who writes Genesis's "In the beginning God created". The new creed says, " I believe in God who created and is creating". All these declare the goodness of God who created not for himself but for whom and what he created. God is declared in Isaiah to be a God of justice. Jesus taught that God the father is the God of love. Thus it is difficult to accept that such a God as Yahweh is responsible for such terrible woes upon people.

In the Bible there seems to be two senses of the cause of evil in the world. One is the evil that people do to each other and to the world. This is said to be the cause of evil. A second source of evil external from God . This evil as represented in Genesis by the serpent Leviathan . In either case God is not the source of evil. What then of all the woes in Isaiah? There is little doubt that the society in the 6th century BC was self centered and refused justice to be oppressed - they deserve all the woes threatened upon them. It seems however in such cases Yahweh tends to turn from such woes and promises the people restoration and salvation . This amazing God that we worship is too complex and unknown for people to answer the question of the source of evil. We must just trust that the Lord is the Lord regardless of the situation. This writer takes objection to the comments in the notes "to worship him is very much in one's best interest." This is no doubt true but it sounds very crass to think and to say that we only love God because of the good he does for us. We are called to love our creator , our redeemer who created heaven and earth and gave us a new creation in Jesus Christ. A God who is still creating new avenues of justice and mercy for all. This love of ours for God calls us to serve him in working for his purpose justice for all.

 

winstony

 

[Craig]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God “bring prosperity and create disaster”? Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

 

The Biblical precept of a person reaping what they sew.  When one acknowledges God and lives to honor Him that person is blessed on many levels including gaining eternal life in the presence of God.  On the other hand rebellion brings disaster and ultimately death and separation from God.

 

Free-will is the source of evil.   People are the source of the above problems.  We bring it on ourselves by our selfishness and greed and rebellion against God.  The evils and hardships of this world are man-made.  Men go to war, cheat, steal, covet. slander, gossip, etc., not God.  To all of the aforementioned are consequences that usually affect somebody else.  For example, drunk drivers often kill innocent victims.  The driver decided to drink and drive.  God had nothing to do with this.  God blesses those who follow His precepts.  You reap what you sow. 

 

 

[GoRaysXD]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God “bring prosperity and create disaster”? Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

 

The Biblical precept of a person reaping what they sew.  When one acknowledges God and lives to honor Him that person is blessed on many levels including gaining eternal life in the presence of God.  On the other hand rebellion brings disaster and ultimately death and separation from God.

 

Free-will is the source of evil.   People are the source of the above problems.  We bring it on ourselves by our selfishness and greed and rebellion against God.  The evils and hardships of this world are man-made.  Men go to war, cheat, steal, covet. slander, gossip, etc., not God.  To all of the aforementioned are consequences that usually affect somebody else.  For example, drunk drivers often kill innocent victims.  The driver decided to drink and drive.  God had nothing to do with this.  God blesses those who follow His precepts.  You reap what you sow. 

 

[Old Jerry]

I think that the sense that God “bring prosperity and create disaster” is that when we and in communication with God then we have a prosper mind. We can think of the positive and not all the negative things around us. But the since that he create disaster is that when  we don’t have God then there is that whole in us that needs to be  filled and that is when the evil one  comes  in.

God is not the source of evil. We are!! If we would stay connected to Him, then we will be blessed and we won’t be out looking for evil. So since we know that God is the source of all good things we should be staying connected to him.

[JoanG]

God will allow people to have free will. If we follow God's plans for us willingly, God will bestow grace upon us. However, if we do not follow God, we will have to deal with the consequences. We will be disciplined for not  following and allowing sin to enter into our lives.

 

God will use trouble, poverty and disasters to help get us back on track with his goals and purposes for us. He will also use these to punish those that refuse to follow his laws and rules.

 

We need to really live our lives according to God. we need to be as holy and sinless as possible. We need to keep God as the number  one in our lives.

[Commissioned]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God "bring prosperity and create disaster"? Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

 

​God "bring prosperity and create disaster" to accomplish His plans.  God is not the source of evil or of trouble as man see or interpret evil and trouble; God allows evil and trouble to bring man back to Him and to bring man back to the path that he is destined. The same is true of prosperity and poverty.  In some instance a person who seeks materialism and forgets God will lose it all and still goes into eternity without what he fought to have here on earth and without God. When we put our trust in God and walk in obedience to His Holy Word he will provide for us what we need.

[Krissi]

To say God is not the source of evil, but merely He allows it, seems to be a sleight-of-hand.

Satan was one of God’s angels. He fell. What really happened, I don’t know.  It seems a story that explains evil by suggesting that evil must have existed in some form for Satan to have succumbed to it. Thus, I do not think God exists in an evil-void, but actively subdues and bears down on it. 

Perhaps, because I have suffered so much – mostly, after committing my life to Him – that I believe God doesn’t just use evil, or permit it, but is the source of both evil and good. In fact, it’s goodness that has to be explained, not evil. That Christians can experience His goodness is amazing – that we experience His pain is sadly expected. It is the existence of goodness I need to explain, not evil. Evil is the default mode of the world. The fact that joy, love and gentleness can poke through evil, on occasion, is proof of God’s benevolence.

God is all, over all, under all, and in all. There is no other. He is, over, under and in evil as well as good.

Thus, He authors both goodness and malevolence, prosperity and poverty, health and illness, joy and grief. He is a great and powerful God and I am grateful for the goodness I do have in life.

[Dove81]

Q7. (Isaiah 44:7b) In what sense does God “bring prosperity and create disaster”?

This was a hard one for me. God doesn’t bring disaster but he can use disaster to get what he needs accomplished done. Which in turn would be prosperity. I don’t know why this questions makes me think of the Israelites leaving Egypt. They left with gold and silver that the Egyptians gave them, they traveled for 40 years and not once did they not have everything they needed. God provided even though they roamed around in the wilderness for 40 years because of their disobedience to God. He still provided and used the disaster that they created by not trusting that God would give them the land he promised them because it was occupied by people they felt where stronger than them. 

Is God the source of evil? Of trouble? Of prosperity? Of poverty? In what sense is he responsible for these? In what sense are we responsible for these things? Since we know that God is the source of both prosperity and disaster, what should we be doing?

Adam brought sin into the world which has caused all mankind to be born in a fallen world. God is not the source of evil, satan is. God allows things to happen in our lives to cause us to turn back to him. He is in control of everything and there is nothing that happens that he doesn’t know about or can’t handle. We have all been given free will to choose who we will serve. This question really made me think, of 1 John 4:4 because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. I’ve always looked at that scripture as God dwells in me satan is the god of this world. But now I feel like that make’s it appear as if theres two Gods and there is not. Satan doesn't have control over anything, we give him control over our lives by our actions, our thoughts and how we live. When in reality he has no control. Its more important than ever that we have a relationship with God and study his word so that we can be separate from this world.