I suspect almost everyone reading this has asked themselves the same question, because evil is real, and at times our world seems completely in its grip. And to be honest, we don’t always know why God allows evil things to happen. The Bible talks about “the mystery of iniquity” — and that’s what evil often is: a mystery (2 Thessalonians 2:7, KJV).

But the Bible tells us two important truths about evil that we need to remember. First, evil doesn’t come from God; He didn’t create it, and He doesn’t cause it. Evil comes instead from the Evil One — Satan — who is absolutely opposed to God and His goodness. It also comes from within our hearts, as we turn away from God and live only for ourselves. Jesus said, “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7:21-22).

Second, the Bible assures us that God has already done something about evil! He sent His only Son into the world to defeat it — and He did. When Jesus died on the cross and then rose again from the dead, He confronted the powers of death and evil and Hell — and He defeated them. Some day the final battle will be fought, and He will come again to destroy all evil.

Don’t put your hope only in this world’s solutions; they’ll always disappoint you. Instead, put your hope in Jesus Christ, for He is with us, and one day His victory over evil will be complete.