Dealing with the evil we see.
Evil seems to be everywhere on the earth and it seems impossible to get rid of. We remember that:
- All of the evil we see is caused by bad human choices. Bad human choices have caused cancer, disease, and
other health challenges. Evil has affected the edible parts of creation, and evil has caused severe weather events.
Even accidents of various sorts or crime intentionally committed in our world, are caused by bad human choices.
- Evil does not have unstoppable power and authority. If we wonder how to oppose it, thinking that it would take too
much time … we would not even be able to pray against the evil that we become aware of.
Since these are true, when we think about opposing evil, we remember that evil is powerful and
will try to hurt us with curses and death and more … we wonder where to start in opposing evil.
Yet we fight in faith, not fear. When we see evil, or anything on the earth, we know that the cause is human choices.
Since we also know that any and all evil that we see on the earth has NO authority even to exist on the earth, we oppose
its very existence in our world. We wear God’s armor, and enter the battle as God directs.
We expect to win when we fight evil. Our mindset includes the perspectives:
1) that God gave evil NO authority on the earth … NONE,
2) that God is Almighty - in comparison to Him, evil is weak - and
3) that the Almighty God acts as we relate to Him, receive direction from Him, and follow His direction.
When we do, the personal expressions of our authority on the earth, such as speaking, will not be limited.
Given all of this, I suggest,
first, that we make good choices; our choices should not add evil to our world.
Secondly, I suggest that we relate to God to know which evil we should clean up next. We should also ask
God about, our families, our friends, our neighbors, and in general, about the evil that we learn of. Since evil seems
to be everywhere, we relate to God. Since God knows about us and our world, we get our concerns and burdens
from Him … He knows best, and He will tell us what to do and how to do it. God is for His people; He is on our side.
Thirdly, we should follow the example of Jonah, who prayed so effectively against Nineveh that God sent him to
pronounce its doom. There are many verses throughout the Bible where God reveals the sure destruction of the wicked.
Each of us could search the scriptures of God’s Bible revelation to find assurance that the evil that God tells us to oppose
is already in trouble before God because of the way He made the world to work.
Fourthly, it is often the case that the wicked determine their own punishment. I believe that God has given each of us a
shield of protection that not only quenches fiery darts from heavenly places, but that it also has a reflective border which
protects us from harm sent from earthly places by returning that very harm to hit the sender. This is another way that God defends His people.
- Part of Joel 3:4,7 says: “ … swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head … ”.
- Psalm 9:15 tells us that the foot of those hoping to catch God’s people is taken in the net they have hid.
- Psalm 35:7-8 show that those seeking to hurt God’s people fall into the trap they set.
- IIChronicles 6:23 states that this will happen to the wicked, as Solomon prays before the people.
Fifthly, the Body of Christ, over which Jesus is the Head is us; we act like evil cannot stand against us, since it cannot
when we sear God’s armor, and act at the direction of the Body’s Head: Jesus. As human members of the Body of
Christ, we act in agreement with Jesus, and with each other. We also act knowing that we have authority, and knowing
that evil does not have any earthly authority. Evil must flee when we act as a member of the Church, the Body of Christ,
and act as Jesus, the Head of His Body, directs. Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth, because Jesus is both Divine
and human and justly has all authority. Jesus’ Body is on the earth, and we humans who are alive are on earth – me
writing and you who are reading this book are on earth.
In addition, God has provided a place that is completely safe from evil … as in the last page.