Violence, death, hatred, and division bombard us at every turn. It’s tempting to put our head in the sand and pretend these things don’t exist, or to otherwise try to control them to create the life of safety and comfort we desire. Wisdom comes from learning how to accept the evil of this world without giving into despair.
To be sure, our heart breaks when we witness the hand of darkness throughout the world, and especially when it hits close to home. And it’s good that our hearts are still so moved because it means we’ve not yet deaden our souls to the world around us and completely given up. But we must still be mindful of what we do with our heartache and pain.
Some try to forget by indulging in anything that allows them to stay distracted. They’re essentially searching for bliss through ignorance. For others, desires for control emerge. And they want to find answers and enforce solutions so there’s no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
Both approaches miss the mark.
Certainly, we don’t have to turn a blind eye to the pain and suffering, and outright evil, of this life. Likewise, there’s a place to resist evil. We’re not living by faith when we simply allow evil to steal, kill, and destroy the life Christ came to give us.
All the same, we fight the good fight with a proper perspective of our story. Evil is a reality we will have to contend with until Christ comes again and brings with him the restoration of all good things. As such, we don’t run from the fight, but we’re under no illusion we can do enough by our human efforts to eradicate the darkness of this world. In short, we accept the presence of spiritual warfare in our story without giving into despair.
In the end, there are many things in this life not as it should be. Don’t give up, run away, or try to control. Accept the assignment God has given you and fight on – trusting the ultimate outcome to God.
Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash
