When the fires of life rage, whether they be internal or external, it’s easy to believe that we’ve done this to ourselves. We forgot to turn the stove off, so of course the house burned to the ground. The sirens scream, everything’s lost, and it’s all our fault. Or maybe we’re one of those who vehemently deny complicity, even as we stand there with matches or smoking gun in hand. There’s always someone else to blame for the mess; we’re just victims of the madness.
The truth is we are both villain and victim. We are born into a broken world, but we also do our own share of breaking. And deep down, we know this to be true.
Maybe you’re someone who believes you are beyond hope that the trials, testing, and tribulation of life are poetic justice. They belong to you, and you to them, so why should you pray for deliverance when the evil is of your own making? You won’t have words with God because you don’t think he should stoop into your mess.
But the truth is, God reunites you to himself, even when it seems like life is destroying you.
The question is, Will we let go of everything that is anti-life and, therefore, anti-God? The Father, in his mercy, tries our hearts and leads us into the dark night of the soul. In this place of surrender, the pain of our brokenness helps deliver us from self-righteousness and self-sufficiency, and we are compelled to behold — and be held by — the Father again, seeing the righteous face of God, and hearing the Voice in fresh ways.
Throughout Scripture we see what Eugene Peterson calls the great paradox of God’s judgment, that evil becomes fuel in the furnace of salvation. It’s tempting to believe that any evil dwells beyond the reach of God’s sovereignty. But God is the Lord over evil, and we are promised deliverance from its grip, whatever form evil may take.
We participated in the corruption of this world, and God has invited us to join in its salvation. To storm the gates of hell, as Jesus put it. Our mission is not possible, however, if we cower to or deny evil. When it’s all said and done, in Christ, we triumph over death and Hades. So we mustn’t shrink back in our prayers. The Father will deliver us from evil. That is the vision of godly hope, the power of faith, and the surety of Love.
Addison Bevere joins Randy Robison and Tammy Trent this Thursday on LIFE TODAY. Excerpted from Words With God by Addison Bevere. Copyright ©2023 by Addison Bevere. Published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Used by permission.
