I will just type out the verses Barry mentioned at the end:

Psalm 115:16 "The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men."

Psalm 8:3-6 "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; (4) What is man, that thou are mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? (5) For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. (6) Thou hast madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet."

We have dominion here, so if evil is running rampant, we shouldn't blame that on God. We are to blame for it. Evil exists because man has free will, not because it was all a part of God's plan. God created the Garden of Eden, a perfect paradise for man t live in. His plan was for us to live in bliss. No sickness, poverty, death, or any evil existed until man sinned and gave Satan entrance into the earth. What is happening in the earth today was never God's plan, or His will.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." This of course was spoken to the Israelite people through the prophet Jeremiah. If you read the rest of the book, you can see that what God planned for Israel didn't come to pass. He wanted to bless them, but they rejected Him.

Psalm 78:41 "Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel."

God's plan was to bring them into the Promised Land, but they limited what God could do. God didn't control their choices. He told them what His plan was, He told them what He promised them. They didn't receive the promise because they didn't believe. Instead the older generation all died in the wilderness. Was that God's fault? Was He controlling them? Joshua and Caleb DID believe, and because of it, they got enter in. God didn't make the choice for any of them. Just as He doesn't make our choices for us. He doesn't make us sin against Him, or make us do evil. He respect our choices because we have free will.

praise God! Often times I notice that people judge God because of the actions of men. What people forget is that God set things in motion a long time ago allowing humanity to make their own choices. We see this from the very beginning when Adam and Eve were told not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He said for on the day that you eat thereof surely you will die! Well, we know how that ended, humanity was plunged into spiritual death. Many Christians still operate out of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, judging the actions of others and even judging God based upon the results they see in the world today. The basis of the kingdom of God rest upon belief. Faith is the demonstration of that belief and we are justified by works of faith, not good works that have their foundation within the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When I read the bible, it is clear to me that the prevailing message is this, love God, and to love God we must obey God. Primarily this means to keep yourself unspotted from the world, believing that the sin nature has been destroyed and that we have received a new nature by which we can now know (relational) God. That being the case we can now chose to obey God, because we understand His will for us. Fear is ultimately rooted in the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Fear of disappointment, insecurities and the such cause people to behave outside of the will of God. John said perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. How many times do I hear Christians tell other Christians to fear God and that this is the beginning of wisdom. This statement is true for those still walking in the nature of sin, but not to those who understand the grace of God and the work Jesus finished at Calvary. I do not fear my God, because he loved me and has demonstrated this fact over and over again in my life. My only endeavor now is to allow the Holy Ghost reveal to me who I am in Christ through the meditation of His word, praying in tongues, fasting, worship and demonstrating faith through speaking what He reveals in truth and power. This is laying down ones life and becoming a slave to the gospel. I am possessed by Christ, I have been born again and have been made a partaker of His divine nature by the which I serve God. I do not use this liberty to make my own demands of God by holding up a list of my wants and desires confessing that God will do my will. This leads to a lack of faith when God does not grant my selfish desires because they bring destruction. I will rather believe God, I will choose to believe what He said concerning Jesus and I will believe what Jesus has said concerning my redemption and my inheritance. Lord I ask you to remove all unbelief in my life, I know the precious gift you are to me and all those who believe in you. Help me to be a living sacrifice unto you that the words I speak would be your words and the works I do are your works. That you would be glorified in me the same way that you glorified the Father, for we are one in spirit. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in me. I thank you that you are teaching me to walk in love, the same love and compassion that Jesus had as a man. I know that you are not withholding any good thing from me, but desire these things for me. I thank you your are strengthening me through faith in Christ. I pray for all of those who are called by you and have received you, that they may walk in the same manner that you did Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord.

Thanks Irish. Very well said. I would only say that "fear" has different definitions. A terrifying fear is not what God wants, but there is also a reverential fear, and I believe there is wisdom in that. Blessings!

Absolutely reverence is a good thing and is much different than fear. Chastening of the Lord is also a good thing and though we may not like it at the time this is a show of love on His part as well. Blessings to you as well!