Evil, it’s all around us, isn't it? It can be suffocating. Even now there are horrible wars happening around our world, our world that God made. Men and women are fighting and dying, children are succumbing to hunger, people hate each other for their differing ideologies or just because of the region they’re from. It’s ugly, and it’s happening every day, day in and day out, since the beginning of time. I hate evil.

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But do you know what’s worse? It’s inside of us, this evil. It’s inside all of us. It’s inside of me. I hate the evil in me. Do you feel it? Do you recognize it? Even you, good and proper Christian, have evil within you. Of course you’re a good person, of course you show up on Sunday, you even showed up for Impact! (Look that up if you aren't sure what it is and get involved!) Still, we’re angry with our neighbor, frustrated with our kids; we want our co-worker's car, our boss’ job, and gossip about our parents.

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Even the apostle Paul wrote in Romans, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing” (7:19).

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Well, do you want the good news or the bad news? It gets worse, you say? (So much for daily encouragement, eh!?)

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We will wrestle with evil for the rest of our time here on Earth, evil within and without – that’s reality and the bad news. You have Adam and Eve to thank for that! Because of their sinfulness and rebellion against God in the Garden, we all get to suffer the consequences (My personal favorite being pain during childbirth, thanks a lot, Eve!). But you know what? If I had been there, if you had been there, the outcome would have been the same. Remember, we’re all harboring evil. We would have rebelled too; we rebel now!

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Yes, yes, I get it, we’re evil, born with it. Bent on rebellion against God, even when we don’t want to be. Please, give me the good news!

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If you are a believer, you have power over the evil inside of you. That’s also reality; it’s the gospel! By accepting the sacrifice of Jesus and allowing him to be King in your life, you receive the Spirit. The Spirit lives inside you and has power over evil!  

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This Spirit also gives us the capacity to think of others and do what’s good in God’s eyes! Our heart begins to care for others and their circumstances over ourselves. We begin to think of ways to influence the world for the cause of Jesus and not our own. I can’t fight a war, but I can pray to the One who has the power to end it. Child hunger is too big a problem to be solved by little me, but God has all the resources of the world at his fingertips, and I can do my part by sponsoring a child (or two or three!). This is the way we live when we know the Spirit who gives life!

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Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (emphasis mine).

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Does this mean we won’t sin again? NO! We will still choose to sin at times, we will find ourselves in the frustrating position of Paul the apostle. We will wrestle and struggle, but we can overcome! We have hope! (Jer. 29:11).

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If you haven't made Jesus your Redeemer yet, why wouldn’t you take that step today? Will you follow him? Are you ready to be changed from the inside out? Are you ready to have the power of the Spirit guiding you and giving insight into your life’s situations? I couldn’t be without it!

Jesus, my Redeemer, I thank you for all you’ve done for us! Thank you for helping us to overcome evil with your goodness. Thank you for putting your desires in our hearts and giving us the power to be an active part of your work! I pray you change hearts for our sake and the Kingdom of God. Give us strength to change things in the world and come to you with our challenges, knowing that nothing is too difficult for you, even overcoming evil inside us. Help us to be holy as you are holy (1 Pet. 1:14-15). Amen.

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