He Overcomes The Evil In Me

He Overcomes the Evil in Me

At the end of Genesis 1, we read, “God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” (1:31). But when we come to Genesis 6, things have changed dramatically. “The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart” (6:5-6).

From “very good” to “totally evil.” God looked right into the depths of human souls now corrupted by sin. He read their thoughts, examined their convictions, and followed their reasoning. He traced their imaginations, emotions, and ambitions. And what he saw was not people who were sometimes evil or somewhat evil, but people who were consistently and totally evil.

This is our true character apart from God’s grace. Our sins are not episodic events scattered on the surface of our lives; our sins tell us the dark truth about ourselves. We are not nice people making bad choices; we are evil people proving the thoroughness of our evil.

How will we who are completely evil ever make it back into the good graces of God? We know God can’t tolerate evil, so does that mean we are doomed to destruction for the evil that permeates our hearts and lives?

God has made a way back. He has made available a cleansing. It comes fully and only through the person and work of his Son, Jesus:

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.

But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)

Once I was far away from you, God. I was your enemy, separated from you by my evil thoughts and actions. But now you have reconciled me to yourself through the death of Christ. Now I am holy and blameless as I stand before you, without a trace of evil. Only you are good enough and powerful enough to overcome the evil in my heart, and I love you for it!