Right now as I am writing this, it is autumn. The time when the weather becomes cooler, leaves begin to fall, and holidays begin. October is a month sometimes referred to as "spooky season" because of Halloween. For some of us, Halloween brings up memories of fall festivals or fun times we spent as kid dressing up. But on the other hand, Halloween can also bring memories of graphic decorations, horror movies, and things that are simply evil.
When watching a
When watching a scary movie, made to induce fear and adrenaline in its victims--I mean, viewers- it is easy to feel hopeless or like there's no way that good can prevail. After all, horror movies have a way of making evil all encompassing and the most powerful force. Even as Christians, we can begin to believe that evil has power. We see politicians become dictators, people wrongly condemned or wrongly justified in court, nations attack nations, terrorists persist, unborn babies and other innocent lives killed, human beings sold as sex slaves, individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol. Evil never ends. It is pervasive. Life becomes hopeless in our eyes by watching evil prevail around us.
But God. His power is above ALL. Everything we see as powerful, that attempts to cloud our eyes and chain us to the belief that the evil in our everyday lives holds the power, is weak to God.
I was reminded of this as I was reading in 1 Samuel. There are many things there that can point us to the power of God, but this particular time I was drawn to this fact by chapters 13 and 14.
The Philistines have been oppressing the Israelites. Saul has only been king for a short while, but they are in battle against these Philistines. His son, Jonathan, says to his armor bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14: 6).
Jonathan believes that God can save if He wants to save and there is nothing that can stop Him. As a result in his trust, he decides if the Philistines call to him and say "come here" then the Lord has given the Philistines into their hands. When the Philistines do just that and call to Jonathan to "come here," Jonathan proclaims that the Lord has saved them and he alone goes to fight, killing twenty men.
There is chaos everywhere. The Philistines begin killing one another, the Israelites run to join Jonathan, and the Israelites win. But get this. They don't even have swords! The Israelites win without weapons. Now that is a testament to the power of God.
In fact, there are many battles the Israelites win simply by the power of God. Gideon and his army of three hundred defeat thousands without even using weapons. Jericho falls by the sound of trumpets and shouts of men. Joshua asks God to stop the sun so that they can defeat the enemy that day (and the sun has NEVER stopped in the history of time except for that day).
God loves to use weak things to bring Him glory. We can feel weak and powerless in the presence of evil. Well, guess what? We are weak. But God is NOT. He created everything and holds everything in His hands (Jeremiah 10: 12). He never grow tired or weak (Isaiah 40: 38-31). Nations rise and fall by His command (Job 12: 23). The creatures of the deep oceans that we cannot even see move only by His word (Job 40: 15-19). Evil cannot stand when God chooses to destroy it by His goodness and light.
Does this mean we will be safe from physical harm and physical death in an evil world because our God has the power to crush it? No. Sometimes God uses the evil that happens in this world to show His glory more fully. That is something that is hard to explain. But we chose evil. In fact, the serpent tempted Eve with knowing good and evil, and we also from the moment of our birth chose to follow evil. With Adam and Eve's decision to sin came consequences, and as a result, physical death, toil, and pain entered God's perfect creation.
Though this may seem to be antithetical to what I have said earlier, it really is not because God in His love has let us choose our path. Romans 2 tells us that He has given man over to their depraved desires, and before Christ, that was us! Yet, by the grace of God, He has saved us and preserved our souls for all eternity by the washing and renewing of His blood through His death on the cross. Romans 8 tells us that there is nothing now that can keep us from the love of God.
Though evil might take our physical life one day or bring harm into our lives or tempt us with sin or threaten to undo us, there is one thing that evil cannot touch. Our salvation. It cannot harm our spiritual life with God. It cannot remove us from perfect love.
So, when we are tempted to despair in the presence of evil, believing that it holds all the power, though it may have power in the eyes of man, it holds no power in the eyes of God. Let us remember that as we seek to go into the dark, hopeless places of the world to bring the good news of Jesus Christ--the only source of hope, truth, and peace. Though we may be touched or attacked by evil, God is with us. And He holds all the keys to life in His hands.
Written on Oct 31, 2022 by former Lets Grow Together Blog Manager - Kelly Miller.
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