Romans 12:21

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

Devotional Thoughts

By Gary Wilkerson

At one point in Israel’s history, God instructed Jeremiah, “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return?” (Jeremiah 8:4). God was saying, “People, wake up! I’m alerting you to this. If you don’t take action, things will fall apart!”

The first step is to know God has a plan for you. His plan for your life includes getting you through this present issue he’s pointing out. That’s the responsibility of any earthly parent; how much more so of our heavenly Father? I’m a dad of four children, and from their earliest days, I’ve had a vision for them. I’ve had a prayer list for each of them, from their future marriage partner to the unique ways I see them following Jesus. God has that kind of vision for you and no one else.

The second step, after knowing God has a plan for you, is to align yourself with his plan. He didn’t point out your problem to judge you, but so he can fix it. You may stress out that it’s beyond your control, but he’s telling you, “Don’t worry, I’m in control of this.”

Yes, you’re going to fail; you’ll make mistakes and fall short. But God can turn everything around by changing the whole trajectory of your life. Paul describes this process when he writes, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11).  

Third, implement God’s plan. It’s easy to say, “Lord, I know you have a plan for me, and I want to align myself with it.” But we also have to actively walk in that plan and execute it in our life. I urge you, be the one who says, “Lord, I rejoice that you’re changing my life. You’re turning around what I couldn’t. I want to live that out in the fullness of your Spirit. Show me how.” That pleases him because nothing is too strong for his loving grace and mercy. Amen!