Overcoming Evil

We are entering a season where the major thrust will revolve around Spiritual Warfare. I have said this before, but if you are serious about being used by God as an instrument of Kingdom Advancement, you need to be prepared to go into spiritual battle. There will not be anyone who is on the battlefield that will not be an object of Satanic attack. There is no need to fear, the victory is already ours in Jesus Christ, but we still have to fight. With this in mind we need to be prepared how to Overcome Evil.

The Evil One (the devil) has one primary objective, to get us so self-absorbed that we lose focus on God. Satan knows that if he can get us distracted and out of alignment with God's Divine Will for our lives, then sin is pretty much inevitable. That's why we need to be sober and vigilant (1Peter 5) because Satan is very subtle, and before you know it, he's got us off track. But if we are watchful and prayerful in regards to self-examination, we won't be caught off guard and can thwart the enemy's attacks.

One of the ways that we must Overcome Evil is by not harboring grudges and unforgiveness. This is one of the major areas that Satan defeats the believer. If you're holding a grudge or any type of bitterness or resentment against anyone, you've got to let that go. Not only is it not emotionally healthy, it's also not spiritually sound. All of us have been hurt by someone in some shape, form or fashion. All of us have been mistreated and been victims of injustice and unfair treatment. But as believers in Christ, this does not give us the right to harbor malice or resentment towards someone else. As Christians, we are beneficiaries of God's Grace and Mercy. Therefore, the expectation is that as God has forgiven us, we are obligated to forgive others. This is not optional, this is mandatory. Jesus clearly says in the 6th chapter of Matthew that if we don't forgive others their trespasses, The Father won't forgive us. Ask The Father to heal us of the wounds and hurts that may be sponsoring resentment and bitterness in our hearts.

Another way to Overcome Evil is to fight it with Good. Not only must we not hold grudges and harbor bitterness and unforgiveness, but we must learn to love and do good to those who mistreat us. This is a big challenge for a lot of believers, but no matter how daunting the task, it is still the Divine Will of God for our lives. Jesus tells us clearly to love our enemies. We must mature in this area. We must proactively do good to those who mistreat us and who have done us wrong. This is not natural, it's Supernatural. So it's not a matter of "how you feel". It's a matter of what you're going to choose to believe. Remember, the Lord says that He sends His rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5). He does not discriminate in regards to His Goodness. God loves everybody, and demonstrates such. When we do this, we neutralize the evil in the world because the darkness of evil cannot overwhelm or hinder the Light of God (John 1). We have some difficult days ahead of us saints, and there are more than a few people who are not going to be nice based upon the stand we'll have to take because of our faith in God. But let us not succumb to hatred or resentment or bitterness or revenge. Let us be committed to Overcoming Evil with Good (Romans 12).