DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:13

I didn’t normally walk in the dark, but the day light was gone, and I still needed to do my exercise, so off I went through the subdivision, walking in the street where the street lights illuminated my path. I rounded the corner when suddenly there was a very large dog, charging at me. With teeth bared, nostrils flared, and a sound from his throat of pure fury, I knew I was in trouble. He was charging so fast, he could have easily knocked me down, or grabbed me by his teeth.  I would have been helpless to his powerful strength, and thought I was totally alone on this dark night.

Even though everything inside of me wanted to scream and run, I did not give in to this reaction. I made no eye contact with this dog, stayed perfectly silent, and slowed my pace to a crawl. He was barking, and nipping at my feet, but I slowly kept walking with my eyes straight ahead. As soon as he grew tired, he left me; at which point I could finally take air into my oxygen deprived lungs. A man standing on his porch had seen the whole scene. He said that he was ready to get his gun to protect me. It was nice to know I was not alone after all.

Evil is like that, except it does not come up upon us in such a vicious manner. Temptation comes disguised beautifully, and it entices us into its web: maybe it’s a woman at the office who actually listens and appreciates you, or a website ad on the computer seducing you to take a peek, or a neighbor’s brand new car, when yours is in the shop for the third time, or maybe a table full of pies, cakes and cookies. It’s oh so tempting to have an affair, watch some pornography, covet your neighbor’s car, or be a glutton.  But the lists goes on and on: We lie, cheat, gossip, become jealous, prideful, or judgmental. When we give into the temptation, we are no longer a spectator, but a participant in the arena of evil. 

Evil takes us where we never planned to go, and will keep us much longer than we planned to stay. When we pray to God, and say, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we are not only speaking of evil inflicted upon us, but also of the evil that we inflict on ourselves and others; evil which holds us captive.

If we had kept our eyes straight ahead on Jesus, and moved away from temptation toward the Father, we could have avoided getting into such an ugly mess. If it is too late, and we have given into our sinful desires, we need to remember, we are not alone. Yes, God is watching what we do in secret. The good news is, He loves us even while we are drowning in our immorality. He is there, waiting and willing, to protect, and deliver us from our evil arena. Recognize that sin is like quick sand; the longer we stay in, the harder it is to get out. Come quickly to the great Deliverer, and be set free.

Dear Father, Please help me out of this mess. In the name of Jesus, Amen