Evil Spirit from God?

"Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him." 1 Samuel 16:14

When I first read this I must admit I was in disbelief. "God wouldn't send an evil spirit! That's not God, that must be the Enemy!" As I read further, however, I learned that God had used evil spirits before and will again in the future. In the book of Judges, "After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Schechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech." Judges 9:22-23 In 1 Kings 22:22, God sent a lying spirit "to entice Ahab (King of Israel) into attacking Ramoth Gilead where he died there." And in 2 Thes 2:9-12 Paul foretells of God sending "a powerful delusion," so that those who remain in the end times will believe the lie of Satan and not believe in the truth of God.

Saul did not realize when God sent the evil spirit to torment him that David had been anointed to be the next king of Israel. Saul summoned David to play his harp in order to ease his torment; however, God had already arranged events such that David could be close to Saul so that he might learn kingship and be visible to the people of Israel. The evil spirit was used by God to shape natural events and move forward God's plan of redemption which would be fulfilled by Christ Jesus through the royal line of David!

My prayer. Father, you are the author of our salvation and you alone are in control of the natural and the supernatural. I pray that we can be useful to you in shaping your kingdom just as Saul and David were in Samuel's day. Make us today your servants. Hone our skills and prepare us to do your will on earth. Help us to be your hands and feet, the conduit between the supernatural and the natural worlds. Make us more in your image and less in ours as we serve you with gladness. I Jesus name I pray, Amen!