“But the Lord laughs at wicked people, because he knows they will soon be destroyed.” (Psalms 37:13)
Many times I’ve been asked, “You talk about God all the time. So, why then doesn’t God end all the evil people do?” It’s a good question to ask, and it’s an easy one for me to answer. God created people with free will, and this means they get to choose between good and evil. They aren’t getting away with anything. It’s just a matter of time.
Recently, I found myself asking the same question. “God, I don’t understand. Why do you allow people to get away with evil?” After I asked that question, I laughed at myself knowing it was a ridiculous question I just had asked God. I know better, but out of frustration, I asked my ridiculous question.
As we were driving to church still with that question on my mind, God brought to my mind the above passage. “Teresa, they are not getting away with anything. I will act at the appropriate time.” Just as I passed by my old home, suddenly, God brought to my mind two supernatural experiences I had encountered while a house was being built.
The previous owner wasn’t happy we had bought the home and that we were building. He decided to make our life difficult and planted corn, 50 acres worth. Ok, I could live with that, but he then decided to use chicken manure for fertilizer. The odor was horrific. I tried to politely ask him to please consider an alternative. He wasn’t going to do it. He just wanted to make my life difficult. So, I took the battle to God on my knees. My friend and I went to my house early in the morning, before the construction crew arrived and began praying. There we were with our hands outstretched toward 100 acres of land, praying God would intervene and cause that man to be kind instead of mean. We believed for a miracle. We prayed God would bless this man and give him a change of heart.
We never saw a change of heart in him. He was rude as always. One month after the prayer, my builder was at the house, and one of the man’s workers was out on his tractor. My builder stopped him and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you destroying the crop?” I had no idea that’s what the man was doing. I stood there confused as this conversation was taking place. The man answered my builder and said, “Well, the strangest thing happened. The corn stopped growing. We have no idea why. So now we have to pull it out and wait seven (7) years before we can grow anything on this land again.” I can never keep a poker face. My smile was from ear to ear, and my mouth just opened in praise. “Thank you, God, for answered prayer.” My builder knew of the problem and so did the guy on the tractor. I apologized for my remark, but the man stopped me. He said, “I understand. I would say the same as you. You shouldn’t have to be subjected to this kind of odor!” So, everyone knew he was being a jerk, admitted by his own hired hand.
Then, while all this was going on. We had another issue. We couldn’t finish building because a toad lived in a tree in my yard. We needed to cut that tree down to finish building, but the town wouldn’t give me a permit because of Mr. Toad. We were stuck. I began praying again, “God, you created all living things. I don’t know what to do. We need to get rid of this tree. Please I ask for favor from this chair of the environmental board." She wasn’t going to budge.
Two months later, I was serving dinner. Suddenly, it began to rain. The next thing I knew, I saw lightning in the sky. Then, a huge deafening sound. The lightning struck the particular tree, and it came tumbling down. My kids and I saw the entire thing from our kitchen table. Talk about a speechless moment. I’ll never forget Justin’s remark, “Wow Mom, did you see that? God took care of that tree you have been complaining about!”
Those two people giving me a hard time were being super mean. There was no need for it. The man didn’t have to use chicken manure. There are other kinds of fertilizers. And he had 100 acres of land. He didn’t have to grow it on my side. There were no houses around. Just mine. He could have grown it anywhere. He chose to be mean-spirited. The woman could have given me the permit to finish building. I offered to pay to keep that toad safe and build around it. I had met with environmental people and had a good plan, but she wanted to be mean.
Today, I woke up asking God a question, and 30 minutes later, He brought to my mind this scripture and reminded me how He took care of those who tried to give me grief in the past. He was clearly reminding me He was the same God. He laughs at the wicked. God was strongly reminding me to let it go because He would fight for me. All those with intentions to purposely hurt me and try to stop me would be dealt with by God Himself.
I’m reminding all of us that God laughs at the wicked. He doesn’t look the other way at those who do evil especially when evil is done to those who are His. Our job is to be kind, do good, and love those who try to wreak havoc on us.
They are to be pitied. They are not understanding God will repay the evil they are committing. There’s no game playing with the Almighty God. He says, “They will be destroyed!” It stops with that word, "destroyed!” That scares me to death. It keeps me well-grounded and should do the same for you. We need to watch ourselves.
As unpopular as this passage may be, it’s a truth that cannot be ignored. Evil people will be punished for what they do. We often ask God, “Why do they seem to get away with things?” But here God clearly shows they don’t when they choose to continue to do evil in His sight.
Be at peace with knowing God has you. Pray for those who hurt you and wish no one any harm. In due time, God will repay everyone accordingly. Don’t fight your own battles. Take the battle to God on your knees. He does it so much better.
In my case, they never grew corn again. As for the tree that was going to cost $3,700 to cut down and was struck down by God costing me nothing, and beautifully falling on the side of the town. They had to remove it for me. All that both incidents cost me was time. In the end, I saw the power of God and His miraculous hand move. Imagine He caused the corn plants to stop growing, and the tree to be struck by lightning (I have dozens of trees), but the lighting hit THAT tree. God was laughing at those two people who caused me so much grief.
God reminded me, “Relax, Teresa, I sit on my throne, and I see very clearly what’s happening. I got you, I’ll take care of those who try to plot evil against you.” This reminder isn’t just for me. It’s for all those who are His and it might seem as if the wicked have the upper hand. They don’t! God is in control. Do good, keep your eyes on the one that rules the universe and is a just God.
Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
Founder and President
Thread of Hope, Inc.