Reflection Questions:
Sample Prayer:
God, when evil feels too big to overcome, help me remember that You are stronger. I believe You can change hearts, rewrite stories, and bring good out of what seems hopeless. Show me where I need to surrender control and trust You to do what only You can do. Use me to be part of Your light in a world that desperately needs it.
Hi friends, this is Chuck Allen and you're listening to the Weekday podcast and I'm really glad you've taken a few minutes out of your day to join me. You know, when we turn on the news these days, it can feel pretty overwhelming. Can it? Violence, corruption, injustice. Sometimes evil seems so stinking, entrenched, so unstoppable. And that's what I want to talk to you about today. The profound truth that only God can change evil. So welcome to episode number 15 out of 25 in our series, what Only God Can Do When Evil Seems Unstoppable. You know, we. We live in a world marred by horrific violence. We, we live in a world with systemic injustice, personal betrayal, and if we're honest, our attempts to solve the problems feel really inadequate, don't they? We create laws, but folks find their ways around them. We implement reforms, but systems remain corrupt. We try to change people, but hearts remained hardened. And that's because at its core, evil isn' a behavioral problem, it's a heart problem. And only God can truly change a heart. In Ezekiel, there's this beautiful promise where God says, I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. I love that imagery. God doesn't just modify our behavior. He performs a heart transplant on us. He doesn't just say, try harder and be good. He says, I'll give you a completely new heart, a new life. We see this transformative power throughout the Bible and in history. When you think about Saul of Tarsus, a man who actively persecuted the early church, approving the. The stoning of Stephen and dragging Christians from their homes to kill them. Yet on the road to Damascus, he encountered Jesus and was so completely transformed that he became Paul the Apostle, who would write most of the New Testament and ultimately give his life spreading the Gospel. These weren't little minor behavioral modifications. These were complete transformations that happened in Paul's life. And this same power is at work today. I've seen people trapped in cycles of violence become advocates for peace. I've seen marriages that were battlegrounds of betrayal become testimonies of redemption. You know, I. I'm reminded of a couple actually, that I had counseled I guess this is probably four years or more now. And this woman he'd gone through just an incredible environment growing up of abuse and neglect. By her early 20s, she was caught in a cycle of addiction and destructive relationships that, honest to goodness, I didn't know that I would ever see that break in her life. Her. Her life was literally spiraling out of control. For the first time, I met her, and everyone who cared about her felt helpless. But then something happened. Through a series of what she would call divine appointments, she found herself in a recovery program grounded in faith. Not easy. There were plenty of setbacks. I promise you. There are plenty of struggles that probably still exist. But gradually, something began to change in her from the inside out. Today she leads a ministry helping women escape the same cycles that once held her captive. You see the transformation so complete that people who meet her now can hardly believe her past was real. Only God can take what is evil and not just neutralize it, but redeem it for good. I love what Paul, that same guy we talked about a little earlier, writes in Romans, don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. But you might say, well, Chuck, doggone it, how's that possible? How can good overcome the overwhelming evil we see in the world?
Not through our strength or strategies, friend, but through the power of God working through us. The ultimate demonstration is on the cross. What appeared to be the triumph of evil, the brutal execution of the innocent son of the living God, became the very means of evil's defeat. The worst thing that ever happened wound up being the best thing that ever happened. The greatest injustice became the source of all justice. As John puts it, the son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Now that that work, it still continues today.
It's happening in your life and in mine. The evil you've experienced, whether inflicted on you or by you, is not beyond God's power to transform. The injustice that seems entrenched in our world is not beyond God's ability to overthrow. God's power to change everything doesn't negate our responsibility, though, y'all. It defines it. Instead of striving to be the source of transformation, we become vessels through which God's transformative power can flow. We were created and we were wired to participate in God's transformative work, y'all, by recognizing divine interruptions as opportunities for his power to flow through us. Right in our normal, everyday course of life through me and you. That's right. So what does that mean for you? Well, if you're battling an addiction or pattern of sin that seems unbreakable. Remember that the God who can give a new heart can break those chains. Maybe you're working against injustice or evil. It seems too powerful to overcome. Remember that the God who defeated death itself can overcome any evil through you. If you're struggling to forgive someone who's just deeply wounded, you remember that God who forgave you from the cross can help you extend that same forgiveness. I love how Paul puts it in second Corinthians. He says, this means that anyone who belongs to Jesus Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone. A new life has begun. This is the heart of the gospel, friend. Not that just God came to change some things or improve some aspect of life, but that in Jesus everything can be made new. The old can pass away. A completely new life can begin. Nature, health and evil. They don't have the last word. God does. Whatever seemingly unstoppable evil you face today, whether it's a personal struggle or a relationship conflict or a societal injustice, I invite you to surrender it to the only one who can truly change everything.
It's not about trying harder or figuring it out on your own. It's about yielding to the transformative power of God, who specializes in changing what we cannot remember. Friends, as always, you are loved, you are valuable, and you're never alone on this journey. Thanks so much for joining me on today's Weekday podcast.
