Dear sister,
We can’t escape the obvious. This world is plagued with evil, we fight daily against the Evil One, and we have evil within us. Ready for the good news? Nothing that happens within us or around us can separate us from God’s love.
Romans 8: 31-39:
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So why do we often live as if evil has won? I can only speak from personal experience, but for me, it all comes down to whether I believe truth or lies. What I’m believing, becomes what I’m living, because God has certainly not stopped loving me (or you!) I am coming to realize that the battle for my soul is not whether or not I am being a ‘good Christian’, although obedience certainly honors God and brings us joy. The battle is whether or not we believe we are loved. Cherished. Cared for as the apple of His eye. Rejoiced over. Worth dying for. Living in this love will transform every area of our lives, and will motivate us to live the lives we are called to live. Okay, you say, so what now? This is just a humble reminder to get on your knees, confess your unbelief, and cling to the love of Christ as expressed on the cross, once again. The Gospel has been and always will be the only answer. We must preach the Gospel to our weary souls every day, and push back the power of evil in our own hearts, our families, our communities, and the world around us.
By Grace,
Ruth