Day 27: The Evil One
Many people struggle with the question of why bad things happen to ‘good’ people, or how, if God is all-powerful, do evil things and people exist? It is interesting to me that the questions of our day are always straying away from the positive reality that our Lord was, is, and will always be. Not only this, but when people describe something today, they tell what it is not. “Love is not fearful,” or “Peace is not war.” The list can go on, but I think you’re getting it.
The reality at hand today, as we continue in the Lord’s prayer, is that Jesus is teaching His disciples to pray for deliverance not just from the evil one but from all evil. It is an acknowledgment in this prayer that, ultimately, what we are believing is that God is perfectly good, and in God’s perfect goodness, He is capable of delivering us from the evil one and the schemes of evil. What we are also acknowledging is that in our praying this, by free will, God is capable of allowing things to take place. In my opinion, it is not God’s will for hurricanes, tsunamis, tornados, wars, bombs, divorce, addictions, etc. to split apart humanity from one another or from Himself. I believe it is God’s intention for all to come to know Him by His goodness.
This is the beauty of this prayer: that when we are asking for deliverance from evil, we are also asking for deliverance to good. We are calling forth the truth of who God will always be: good. We are remembering the eternally secure hope of the Good One who has been, is, and will continue to be good no matter what we think, say, or do. We are embracing the fact that in God’s goodness, people can receive and live in that reality, or reject and live in their own reality. We live in a broken and hurting world, filled with evil things and situations. Yet, in the midst of it all, we worship and pray to a Whole and Healing God, filled with good things and situations, ready to give Himself freely to a world that only needs to come and ask.
This may not answer every question you have, it may not be what you think is best for you or those around you, but I submit to you today, that our God is Good. I suggest that God’s goodness empowers us to not only stand forth in good things, but also to take back what has been stolen. Today, we don’t just pray for deliverance from, but deliverance to. It is a request to receive and live from the only pure, truthful, and gracious goodness there is: the Lord Almighty. Amen.
Action: Joel 2 is a promise from the Lord to the people of God that everything the enemy/evil one had stolen, God would give back to His people. I believe this promise today more than ever, and I believe that the Lord wants to pour forth more and more goodness over you. I encourage you to listen to “Take Back” by United Pursuit Band, and while listening allow the Lord to guide you in what things He wants to restore to you. During this time, pray: Holy God, align me with the Good One.
