🔥When Darkness Doesn’t Mean Defeat: A Reformed Answer to the Problem of Evil

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” —Job 2:10 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” —Genesis 50:20

When tragedy strikes—when evil shatters homes, bodies, nations—it is not uncommon to ask: “Where was God?” Or more quietly: “Why would He allow this?”

This question haunts many, and rightly so. We are not Stoics. The world is full of pain. The Bible doesn’t dismiss that pain—it enters it. And so should we. But we must also enter it with a true vision of God, not one crafted to make us feel safe, but one that is sovereign, holy, and good—even in the valley of deep shadow.

This article offers a Reformed answer to the problem of evil. It respects the emotional weight of the question while refusing to compromise the sovereignty of God.

🧱 The Foundation Matters

Many Christians, in an effort to “rescue” God from blame, reach for what’s known as the Free Will Defense. The idea is simple:

“God didn’t want evil, but He gave us free will, and we misused it.”

This explanation is emotionally attractive. It makes God seem safer—less involved in suffering. It draws a line between divine power and human rebellion. And to be fair, it rightly emphasizes that man is truly responsible for sin.

But here’s the tension:

If God is truly sovereign—if He upholds all things, ordains the end from the beginning, and works all things according to His purpose—then evil can’t be an accident.

And if He is not sovereign over evil, then He’s not sovereign at all.

🤝 Free Will vs. Freedom of God

Let’s be clear: Reformed theology doesn’t deny that people make real, meaningful choices. What it denies is that our wills operate independently of God’s sovereign decree.

The so-called “free will” defense makes man’s will the final explanation for evil. But Scripture says:

“The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” —Proverbs 16:4 “He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth…” —Daniel 4:35

In Reformed theology, God’s freedom, not man’s, is ultimate.

We are not autonomous creatures writing our own destinies. We are dependent beings whose every breath is held in the hand of a holy God.

🧨 Does That Make God the Author of Evil?

No. Here’s the paradox—and it’s vital we hold it with both hands:

• God is absolutely sovereign—even over evil.

• Man is absolutely responsible—for his own sin.

Scripture affirms both without apology. Think of:

• Joseph’s betrayal: “You meant it for evil; God meant it for good.”

• Pharaoh’s hard heart: “I raised you up for this very purpose…”

• The crucifixion: “This Jesus…was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, yet you crucified and killed Him…” (Acts 2:23)

If the greatest evil in history—the murder of the Son of God—was both planned by God and carried out by responsible men, then we must resist the temptation to build a theology that removes God from the story of suffering.

Instead, we cling to the truth: God ordains evil without becoming evil.

He can govern sin without sinning. That is His glory.

🛑 But Doesn’t That Make God Seem...Dangerous?

Yes.

But in the way a lion is dangerous—or a thunderstorm—or a righteous King who answers to no one.

God is not “safe.” He is holy. He is sovereign. And He is good.

A God who never allows suffering may seem comforting at first, but He would be powerless to redeem it.

But our God doesn’t just allow suffering. He ordains it for His glory and our good—and then enters into it Himself.

That is not a weak god shrugging at human freedom. That is a mighty God who weeps, bleeds, reigns, and conquers.

🌿 The Hope Behind the Darkness

The Reformed answer to evil is not philosophical sleight of hand—it’s biblical realism soaked in hope:

• God does not waste evil.

• He does not stand helpless before it.

• He uses it to advance His purposes, sanctify His people, and glorify His name.

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” —Job 13:15

If we anchor ourselves in this sovereign God, we don’t have to explain away pain—we can endure it, knowing the Author writes no meaningless lines.

Even in the dark, His pen never trembles.

🏁 Final Word

To those who hold tightly to the Free Will Defense: I understand. This question isn’t academic—it’s personal. Many are grieving. Many are afraid to believe in a God they can’t control.

But here’s the invitation: Don’t trade comfort for truth. Don’t exchange mystery for autonomy.

Come instead to the God who governs galaxies and grief with the same hand. Come to the One who is not surprised by evil—but who has already overcome it.

And one day soon, every tear will be wiped away—not by a God who merely allowed evil…

 …but by the One who used it to make all things new.