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Define Evil

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I recently spent 4 weeks in two African countries. My time was spent working with pastors in some vibrant churches. These were by invitation from African leaders who have become friends and believe I have value to bring even as I have invited them to Canada because I believe that they have value to bring to us.

During my time, I had a number of conversations with different pastors about the evil that they dealt with on a regular basis. This included witch doctors and their influence, the belief in evil spirits that were present in the Indian Ocean and blew in with the winds (no one lives within 500 metres of the coast because of this), the negative influence of the dead on your life if you don’t deliver their body back to the village they were born in, etc.

They are often praying against these realities as people seek freedom from this evil in their lives.

As we talked, I thought about my context in North America. I have at times heard Christians talk about this overt evil that is experienced in different contexts and in a way there is a fascination with this manifestation of evil and the need to pray against it. It is very true that prayer of various kinds must be used and one must be very aware of what you are dealing with.

And yet, in my context, I wonder how much more evil there is. It’s not the overt evil such as what I heard about in these African countries, but it is no less evil, in fact, it may be even more insidious. It is so evil that we don’t even recognize it, and perhaps we even elevate it as “normal life”, as “the way we live”. As I shared with my African friends: “At least the evil you deal with is visibly evident. I don’t know if we are aware of the evil we are facing.”

Can you recognize what I am thinking about? Are you aware of the evil around you, that you are perhaps succumbing to?

It is the evil of lethargy, not leaning into the life of faith God is calling you into. It is an unwillingness to “deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow.” It is the evil of always needing to get more, own more, have more success, get a larger house, better education – a belief that God owes you more external success for your happiness.

It is the evil that pulls you away from loving and caring for those who are marginalised in society, and instead has you talking badly about them and their poor choices.

It would appear that the evil one – satan, devil, evil spirit – whatever name you want to give, doesn’t even have to work hard at convincing us to follow it. I think we have embraced it culturally, not only culture broadly but perhaps even in our comfortable, middle-class churches. This evil is self-centred, caring only for us.

I probably haven’t done a great job of fully articulating this, yet I know that I have been asking the Holy Spirit to make me more aware of the evil that I have chosen not to see so that I can become all that God is calling me into. How about you?

For the kingdom.

Faith Anchor Points

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What keeps you “in the game” when life doesn’t seem to cooperate? Who do you connect with when your understanding of “God’s goodness” isn’t what you believe it should be at the moment? What stories do you reference when you aren’t sure you can keep moving forward? A mentor of mine would say, “What is revealed in the light, don’t disregard in the dark.” So what do you do when it is dark?

Over time, in these moments, I’ve worked to develop a set of “faith anchor points” for my life. Those things/people/stories I refer to to remind myself of what I knew to be true “in the light” that for whatever reason have been hidden.

So what am I referring to? What have these been?

Now first, let me state that, at the core, is an increased understanding of and engagement in, the simplicity and power of God’s love for me and his grace. To truly grasp this – of which I believe I am a bit more each year – is such a beautiful thing and this will guide you through anything.

However, earthly speaking, what else gives me strength and confidence to move forward “in the dark?”

  • My grandfather, who I never met and who my father never knew because he died when my father was one year old. Yet his story of faith in the midst of communism, to stay true to his beliefs and serve as a pastor, even though it led to his death, continues to motivate me to stay the course.
  • Older mentors who are still in the game. These are people who, in their 70s and 80s and 90s, continue to press in. Their faith is vibrant. They continue to learn more about who God is and what he has for them to do. They haven’t settled for a “coasting” faith, they are always “in the race.” I am encouraged by this.
  • Biographies of faithful followers of Jesus. I hadn’t read many over my life, but in the fall I came across a series of biographies while working with friends in Lithuania. I quickly read 4 of them in two weeks. And was I ever encouraged. People who pushed through the most difficult of circumstances because of their unwavering faith in the call of God on their lives. I keep thinking back to their stories.
  • My global friends. As I hear the stories of my friends in Lithuania, Kurdistan, Iran, the Czech Republic, Kenya, and more, I am often challenged about my small faith, and encouraged to stay the course in many aspects of my journey of being a disciple of Jesus. They have, and continue to, move through incredible obstacles for the sake of sharing Jesus and guiding others. What a faith anchor they continue to be for me.
  • People who have experienced deep pain in life and yet stay the course without wavering. One gentleman who often comes to mind is a person I prayed with in a men’s prayer group every Monday for more than 10 years. He himself came to faith in Jesus in his late 20s. During our time, he lost his wife and daughter to cancer, his son lived with chronic pain since his late teens and at this time was in his 40s. Yet he would show up every Monday morning and pray. He was thankful for the good things he did have in life. Yes, he would express his pain in honest ways in his prayers, yet this never deterred him from believing in the goodness of God. I am forever grateful that our lives intersected.

So, what about you? What do you choose to think about when “what was revealed in the light” is no longer visible? What holds you firm? What are your “Faith Anchor Points?”

For the kingdom.