Understanding Evil
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10.
I will never become a strong disciple of Jesus Christ until I properly understand my relationship to evil. Evil in my life becomes evil when I allow it to become so in me. A cancer is strictly a fibrous mass in my body until I become afraid; then it becomes evil to me. Jesus said of Satan, “The prince of this world cometh, and has nothing in me”. (John 14:30). The evil one attacked Jesus time and again, but never won any ground. That sets a pattern for me; I must not let evil invade me, violate me, spoil me. Even more, I must not even consider doing evil, for love “thinketh not (takes into account) evil.”. (1 Corinthians 13:5). Just as contemplating temptation is the beginning of sin, so contemplating evil action is the beginning of defeat. This begins the real journey into darkness!
That means I must not let evil dwell in my mind, my thoughts. That is where “the renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2) must come into play. A renewed mind is God’s mind, and God will never allow evil to upset Him. Thinking like God thinks take effort, practice, and commitment. I must allow Christ to flow through every impulse of my being, then my mind will be automatically, continually renewed. (Acts 17:28).
Lord, I must never be naive and pretend evil does not exist. I must always recognize its existence but never its authority! The moment I bow to its yoke I start my slide downward. Whenever I turn from evil I can always depend upon Your support, for the “eyes of the Lord are always toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry”. (Psalm 34:15).
The way we THINK is the way we SPEAK. And the way we speak is the way we LIVE!