On January 1st of this year I began reading through the Bible in a year in chronological order. It was smooth sailing at first as I revisited the well-known and loved stories of Abraham, Noah, Jacob, and Moses. Proverbs and Psalms are always relevant and chock full of great advice and relatable phrases. Joshua is full of adventure and Ruth reminds us of God’s promises. Then I hit 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles, detailing the rise and fall of all the wicked kings of Judah and Israel, lots of battles and bloodshed, and names I can’t keep straight or pronounce. Reading felt laborious and not fun. But I made a commitment and wanted to stick to it.

One general theme emerged as I read. The people rebel and do their own thing. They cry out to God, and God rescues. Then they rebel again. Yet God’s plan is never thwarted. Over and over again, I read the same story just with different people and different events. As monotonous as these books of history have been, they have taught me so much about the character of God: His kindness, His provision, and His longing for His people to trust Him. He desires for all to know and love Him, even His proclaimed enemies. He goes to great lengths to prove He is trustworthy, performing miracles and wonders showing He is more powerful than all the false gods they worshiped.

God, there are so many things in life that are hard to understand: suffering and shootings and wars and injustice. There are times it seems evil is prevailing. Yet we know and cling to the truth: You have a plan, and it includes the triumph of good over evil. Evil has no power over You. Help us to trust you even in the midst of pain and confusion, and point this hurting world to our Savior Jesus.

The events that seem evil at the time, or even random, are allowed and used by God for His plan. One of the wickedest kings was King Ahab (along with his wife Jezebel). A prophet of God told him he would die, so he wore a disguise during battle in an attempt to outsmart God. But it didn’t work. “A certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in the joint of the armor,” which killed Ahab (2 Chronicles 18:33 NASB). God used something apparently accidental to fulfill His will. Nothing is random, nothing is overlooked, nothing escapes God’s intentionality. His plan is good and we can trust Him to fulfill it.

And what is God’s ultimate plan? To send a Savior, His son Jesus, into the world to rescue ALL of us from sin and death. This is a plan that was known from the beginning and took thousands of years to execute. With each story and each king and each battle in the Old Testament, God moves the earth closer to Jesus’ arrival in the New Testament. There is no evil king from the past or wicked plan in the present that will stand in the way of God’s great rescue plan. He is good, and we can trust Him.