Romans 12:21 Overcome Evil with Good
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

Romans 12:21

New King James Version (NKJV)

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Much like a light that pierces the darkness when it is turned on and the darkness disappears, It is the power of goodness that overcomes evil.   

As human beings, it says in the bible that our hearts are desperately wicked.  Without God inspiring us in some way, we don’t have the natural instinct to do good.  We respond with real goodness when we allow the Holy Spirit to move through us.  Real goodness is motivated by a pure and holy love which is birthed in us by a holy God.

What does it look like to respond with good?   The answer is in the heart of Jesus.    His ear was turned to the Father at all times and He obeyed everything the Father instructed Him to say and do in each and every circumstance and situation.  Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit were one when He was on earth and now in heaven.  Isn’t that our call also; to be one with God?  He allowed the Holy Spirit to move through Him.  He set himself apart and made time with the Father His priority.   In doing so, His responses in each encounter was met with God’s heart..  Sometimes His responses were soft and tender and at other times they were deliberate and forceful.  In either case, Jesus responded out of the good in His heart.   We need to have Jesus so imbedded in us that we become one with Him emotionally, and mentally.    Our relationship to our Father in heaven must be so intimate that when we have our own encounters we will automatically speak with God’s heart. Otherwise, in our flesh, our  judgment may be tainted by some unresolved issue that we have not healed from or dealt with.      In order to overcome evil we need to find our strength in God’s goodness.   

With God on your side you can be confident and strong in each situation.   

Challenge:  Spend time just listening to God and allow Him to reveal His will.  Open yourself up to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to change you so completely that naturally you respond with the goodness of God.

God bless

Marni

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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.