“Never pay back evil with more evil…Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”

~Romans 12:17-17 (NLT)

God’s Word reminds us that “tit for tat” is NOT His best for us!  On the other hand, pursuing peace brings great reward. Romans 12 goes on to say in verse 21, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”  It hurts when people are “evil” toward us!  There’s no doubt about that.  And the great news is that God will come alongside us and heal the hurts caused by others’ actions toward us.  Then we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, learn to pay back evil with good!  As we hang out with the Lord, He produces the fruits of the spirit in us.  Things like peace, patience, kindness and gentleness begin to mark our lives as we spend time in the presence of the Lord.  Living out these fruits causes life to move from chaos to peace; and it enables us to pay back evil with good!  There are lots of things that are absolutely impossible for us to do apart from the strength of the Lord.  This is certainly one of them.  But with Christ, ALL things are possible!

It can really help to have someone come alongside us and help us with the healing process.  Then we can move forward and begin to conquer evil by doing good.  Incredible peace and freedom come when we do!  Feel free to email Wendy Wilkins if you would like to explore this more. wendy.thegreatexchange@gmail.com

Monthly Prayer Focus:  Pray that our church family would be marked by our willingness to conquer evil by doing good.  Pray that we are quick to approach the throne of grace to get the healing we need when people have treated us with evil.  And pray that many are drawn to God’s grace as we do all that we can to live at peace with everyone.