II Thessalonians 3:3
“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
It’s easy to forget that we have an enemy (counting the demons, it’s enemies) who seeks to ruin us. We have our own sinful selves that war against our godly pursuits and the world which attempts to shame us for following Christ. The devil completes that dark trilogy with the world, the flesh and the devil (Ephesians 2:2,3).
We are like a field. Something will grow there. We can clear it and plant desired vegetables or we can allow random things to grow (typically weeds). We have to be busy and intentional about what grows there. Otherwise, it will produce mixed results.
Jesus said in Matthew 13:25, “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.” The enemy seeks to plant things in us that sour the results. He plants fear, lust, envy, doubt and so on. He has been at his craft for a long time and he’s good at knowing what works.
Hebrews 12:15 gives an example of evil produce, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled”. We have to be active about cutting out bad thoughts and reactions. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” We are to begin with our thoughts. Don’t let evil begin or reside there.
Today’s passage speaks of how the Lord will strengthen and protect us against the evil one. He does this as a shield. He also uses His Word in our lives. As we read the scripture, it acts as a flashlight which points out the weeds. We pray and work in conjunction with the Lord to remove those things.
Lord, thank You for Your protection. Thank You for teaching us how to avoid evil. Help us to fight the good fight and thank You for having our backs.