Isaiah 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
ISAIAH 45:7
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil.” This is a theologically potent, challenging statement about God’s sovereignty over both favorable and adverse conditions. “Evil” here is often translated as calamity or disaster, and the verse emphasizes that God is not the author of sin in moral terms but sovereign over all that happens within his plan. The context challenges simplistic dualistic readings and invites trust in God’s righteous governance, even when situations seem morally confusing.
This verse engages with the problem of evil and God’s sovereignty. It upholds that God controls all events and that peace and disaster are within his purview. It also invites believers to trust divine wisdom and to recognize that God’s purposes include corrective, redemptive, and transformative ends—even when they are mysterious.
We may wrestle with suffering, natural disasters, or personal loss. This verse invites honest wrestling and faith that God is present and purposeful even when we don’t understand. Practical steps: seek honest dialogue with God in lament, find community support, and look for ways suffering can refine faith, deepen compassion, and redirect priorities toward God’s kingdom.
Cross-References
- Job 12:10
- Habakkuk 1:3-4
- Romans 8:28
- Genesis 50:19-20