Deliver Me From Evil

"Discretion will watch over you, 

understanding will guard you, 

delivering you from the way of evil,

from men of perverted speech." 

Proverbs 2:11-12

It is not a difficult thing to look around and see that the world is full of evil.  No doubt that is why the Bible speaks of it so much through the accounts of men throughout history who both committed evil acts and fought against evil.  From the beginning man has been bent toward evil.  Isaiah 53:6a states, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone to his own way..."  In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus encouraged his disciples to pray, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Matthew 6:13

So how do we avoid the ugly beast that so often raises its head in life?  The Holy Spirit, as he guided King Solomon and others , not only gave the answer to that question but gave many illustrations within the pages of Scripture in order to help us overcome the evil one and his earthly helpers.  Wisdom is key, and the Proverbs is a wonderful place to dwell for awhile as we learn what wisdom is and why we need it.  The Biblical accounts give us insight into the lives of others, their struggles in life, and how some of them overcame evil--and how some were sucked under by the horrible jaws of destruction.  

Our encouragement in Scripture is found in the book of 1 Corinthians 10.  Paul tells the church that their ancestors walked through the wilderness with Moses, drinking the same spiritual food and the same spiritual drink that he did, yet God wasn't pleased with most of them, and they died in the wilderness.  Then he says, "Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did." (verse 6).

If it seems that I say the same thing over and over in a different way, it's because I do!  For my own benefit, for that of my grandchildren and any who read this, we must never forget that the only way to know how to escape the evils of this world is to embed ourselves in the Word of God and to embrace His truth.  Everything in the Bible directs us toward wisdom.

As we pray "Deliver us from evil", 
Gloria