evil - Thoughts About God

Entrust Youself to God

Devotionals — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:06:25 +0000

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:23

Deep within us resides a longing for justice. We want evil punished and good rewarded. Yet, all around us we see evil celebrated and good penalized. When society blurs the lines between right and wrong, truth stumbles and justice fails (Isaiah 59:14).

When wrongly accused, Jesus didn’t fight back. He suffered the ultimate injustice. Although Jesus was completely innocent, He was put to death. As Jesus entrusted Himself to God, we should strive to do the same.

Peter tells believers how to handle injustice against them, particularly when it results from their faith in Jesus. Peter repeats the idea of entrusting ourselves to God later in the same letter. “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1 Peter 4:19).

God is our faithful Creator. God is the One who judges justly. When we rely on God’s faithfulness, His goodness, and His justice, we can keep on doing good even though we are treated unjustly. We can keep on living for the truth and trust God to look after us.

Put yourself in God’s hands. Know that you can trust Him to care for you, regardless of what people say or do to you.

Heavenly Father, it is so hard to not demand my rights or defend myself when someone takes advantage of me. Demonstrate your power in my life by giving me the strength to act as Jesus did. I submit myself to you. Amen.

By Suzanne Benner
Used by Permission

Suzanne also has devotionals on: https://thelife.com/devotionals/

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FURTHER READING

Justice, Mercy and Grace

Judging Vs. Justice

Yearning for Justice

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In the Face of Evil

Devotionals — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 07:06:13 +0000

Suicide bombings in Beirut kill 43, wound 239. Terrorist attacks in Paris kill 130, wound 368. Ten dead at an Oregon college, fourteen in San Bernardino. And on and on.

Gun control. Prayer shaming. Closing borders. Fear.

These are the responses to the evil and violence that seem to be growing in intensity and frequency not only in our nation, but around the world. Politicians on one side call for gun control; on the other side, for border walls. The news media calls for solutions while reveling in the business; fear—like sex—sells.

Christians divide: some call for war, some for peace, all for prayer. Some want to reject Muslim refugees, some want to eradicate Islam altogether. Others want to win Muslims through love and service, a la the Good Samaritan in one of Jesus’ more well-known parables.

This morning I read these familiar words in a new light:

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” (Psalm 37:3-6, ESV)

It is a passage often quoted by Christians, offering hope and encouragement through trust in a good and faithful God. What struck me this morning, though, was the broader context in which these verses lie. Far from being a simple call to faith in the midst of the normal challenges of everyday life, the backdrop to Psalm 37 is a time of great strife, enmity, and threats from surrounding nations. The aging David’s reign over Israel has been marked by war and bloodshed; his victories on the battlefield have left behind jealous, hate-filled enemies. Even before ascending the throne, David’s life since youth was spent running from his own king, fearing for his own life.

This warrior-king’s call is to place faith over fear; to trust in God even in the face of threats and imminent danger. When David uses words like evil and wicked and wrongdoers, he is not talking primarily about swindlers or cheaters, but about bloodthirsty adversaries bent on killing. If he were writing today, perhaps he would use the word “terrorists.”

And how does David say we should live in the face of this great evil? Not in fear or hatred, which “tends only to evil” (v. 8), but in goodness and trust, in worship and faithfulness, in righteousness and justice.

We should live with great trust in the Lord who “laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day his coming” (v.13).

Today, will you live in fear or—worse—in hatred? Or will you trust in the God who sees…and who will one day act to end all violence and fear and hatred? …the God who laughs in the face of evil.

By Randy Ehle
Used by permission
Originally posted at https://randehle.com/2015/12/10/in-the-face-of-evil/
Dec. 10, 2015

FURTHER READING

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Fighting Evil or Seeking Good?

Thoughts_About_God — Fri, 02 May 2025 07:03:29 +0000

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

We have just observed the National Day of Prayer, something officially observed in our land since President Truman signed a proclamation in 1952. There were numerous events but for the most part people kept on doing what they normally do with scant observance of the reason for the day. There was not a word about it in my hometown newspaper.

It seems that all too often there is a lackadaisical attitude about prayer, but the Scriptures admonish us to pray. (Hebrews 10:22) tells us to draw near. God always encourages us to draw close to Him in prayer. Here Paul instructs us to do so with unwavering confidence, fullness of faith, without any doubt, because the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has cleared our conscience and paved the way into God’s presence. Today, some no longer feel the need to pray and study daily. They make the excuse that they do not have enough time.

All too often we see the victory against evil is to engage in a culture war to root out evil, focusing on what is wrong. We should do that, but not as a primary focus. As long as we seek moral and spiritual victory on a horizontal plane, we will fall short.

The scriptures are clear that we are to seek good and the overcoming of evil by looking up, not out. Prayer is the access to that vertical relationship. We need to spend less time fighting evil and more time seeking good (God).

We, who are called by his name are to humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. I can’t control the actions and thoughts of others, but I can control myself and turn from my wicked ways. I should cleanse myself before throwing darts at others. All of us have fallen short and need to daily repent, rebuild and ask God to restore.

We do that through prayer ………. silent prayer, corporate prayer, intercessory prayer and constant prayer. When we do this individually and corporately as people of faith, then God will hear, forgive and heal our land.

So before we judge others may we resolve to look first at ourselves, get on our knees and seek personal restoration. Then, and only then, individually and collectively, we will discover the true power of prayer.
(a thought on life from John Grant )

by John Grant
used by permission

John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

Our Struggle

Devotionals — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 08:03:39 +0000

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:12-13

Thoughts on today’s verse:

How often do you forget that we are in a spiritual war? Our enemy is deceptively cunning – take away the immediacy of a threat and the danger appears gone. But he’s there, always. But rather than try to guess his plans and counter all of his moves, Paul reminds us to simply take up the tools God has given us and stand up to the evil one.

Prayer:

Lord of Hosts, my Great Deliverer, protect me from the evil one by your great power. Give me a sense of urgency as I face Satan and his schemes on a daily basis, but also give me confidence that Jesus has already defeated my foe. Help me to stand against this foe and show myself faithful to you. Through Jesus my Lord and Savior I pray. Amen.

By Phil Ware
used with permission.
You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on https://www.verseoftheday.com

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evil - Thoughts About God

Entrust Youself to God

In the Face of Evil

Fighting Evil or Seeking Good?

FURTHER READING

Our Struggle

Further Reading