Overcoming the Daily Evil

David W Palmer

Jesus said that we have “evil” to deal with every day; it is sufficient for that day—it’s all we can cope with; and it is primarily a battle within our thoughts:

(Matthew 6:34 DKJV) “Therefore, do not be distracted by anxious thoughts about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself; sufficient to each day is its own evil.”

Thoughts drift into our minds from many sources—some good, some worrying, anxiety inducing, and evil. God wants us to receive and own only the good thoughts; he wants us to ponder on the good, lovely, pure, and honorable ones, and to reject the evil, deceptive ones:

(Philippians 4:8 NLT) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

When we “own” thoughts, we “swallow” them, so to speak; they go down into our inner being (See: Prov. 18:8, 20; 26:22). The thoughts that fill and dominate our hearts also dictate our words:

(Luke 6:45 APE) “A good man brings forth good from the good treasure that is in his heart and the evil man brings out evil from the evil treasure that is in his heart. For the lips speak from the fullness of the heart.”

This is either the danger point or the victory. Jesus said that from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, and that we will have to give account for every idle word (Mat. 12:34–37). Yes, our words are that important. Jesus also said that you “will have what you say” if you believe it in your heart (See: Mark 11:22–23).

The evil we face daily is therefore primarily a battle over the use of our mind and tongue. James said that just getting us to be “double-minded” can destabilize us (James 1:8), can prevent us from receiving anything from God (James 1:7), and that our tongue—implying the words we speak from the overflow of our heart—steers our whole life:

(James 3:2, 6 NKJV) “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ... {6} And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”

No wonder the enemy works so intensely and constantly on injecting his thoughts. He probes us daily, looking for any idea, thought, accusation, criticism, fear, doubt, or lie—anything at all contrary to God’s word—that we will take on board. If he can get us to own it and then muse on it, we may even “swallow” it. If we do, it will grow in our hearts like a weed until it begins to spill out of our mouths. If so, Satan’s kingdom of this world is safe for the time being— “… brings out evil from the evil treasure that is in his heart.”

Every day we have this challenge to deal with. The enemy believes that if he keeps this up relentlessly, sooner or later he will hit on something that we will swallow. Then, when he has found our weakness, chink in our armor, or wound, he will focus all his efforts there in the hope of building up a stronghold in our hearts and thinking. All the while, he is after control of our tongue in that area. Once he has that, he has neutralized his threat.

On the other hand, Jesus’s objective is that we constantly feed his thoughts into our thinking—renewing our minds to the truth of his word daily. He wants us to feed this into our hearts even more persistently and consistently than the enemy does with his darts, until God’s light replaces the dark thoughts. Whatever fills our hearts overflows through our lips. Jesus wants to hear God’s word along with pure praise and gratitude pouring out of us daily, overflowing from a heart filled with them. Then he can advance his kingdom of love, light, faith, and hope through us … you can have what you say!

What I have described is literally the “evil” with which we have to contend and overcome daily. It is the fight of faith—the battle for our minds, hearts, words, actions, and ultimately, our souls; it is the deadly wrestle to determine which kingdom will rule on earth. The collective accumulation of how much of God’s living word is believed and spoken daily through Jesus’s body—and hence his own mouth on earth—determines the rate of advance of his kingdom worldwide. Will you contribute to “thy kingdom come” by doing your part in this today?

We must remember that God rewards overcoming. Seven times in the seven letters of Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus says, “To him who overcomes …” he will give rewards. Then to conclude the thought, at the end of Revelation he says:

(Revelation 21:6–7 NKJV) “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. {7} He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

Today, I believe God is calling us to step up our vigilance against this daily evil:

(1 Peter 5:8–9 NKJV) “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. {9} Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

We notice that this directive comes immediately after Peter says:

(1 Peter 5:7 NKJV) “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Peter’s mention of the devil and his devouring intent is not a random or isolated statement; it is joined hard to the issue of “care”—ordinary every day worry, anxiety, stress, and pressure. These are all aimed at dividing your mind, getting into your heart, and taking hold of your tongue.

I am encouraging you today to take this very seriously. Take on the battle with the every-day evil; be determined to overcome every last vestige of it in your own mind and heart. Adopt the attitude: never give up! And then …

(James 4:7 NKJV) “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

(Romans 12:21 NKJV) “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

(1 John 4:4 NKJV) “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

(1 John 5:4 NKJV) “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

(1 Timothy 6:12 CSB) “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”