I would be remiss if I didn’t address the evil that we have seen in our world recently. We saw a woman stabbed to death for no reason and then saw a young father assassinated because of his faith. This all occurred around the time we were remembering the terrorist attacks on our nation. I don’t know about you, but my heart has been heavy this past week. Very heavy. My heavy heart comes with a passion to do something to make things better. T do something to replace evil with goodness, intolerance with tolerance, and hatred with love. Please finish this devotion for me.
When the weight of this world feels crushing, I’m reminded of Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Evil wants to paralyze us, to make us fearful, angry, and hopeless. But God calls us to rise above, to be light-bearers in the darkness.
We may not be able to change every tragedy or prevent every act of violence, but we can choose how we respond. We can choose compassion over bitterness, kindness over cruelty, and forgiveness over vengeance. Every small act of love pushes back the darkness a little more.
I go back to the verse I used a few weeks ago, Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” That means our words, our actions, and our presence matter. We don’t shine our light by ignoring evil, but by refusing to let it define us. Instead, we shine by reflecting Christ, by speaking truth, offering grace, and standing for what is good and just.
So, when our hearts are heavy, let’s turn that heaviness into holy determination. Let’s be people who build bridges, not walls. Let’s speak with gentleness, even when the world shouts in anger. Let’s love without conditions, because love is stronger than hate, always.
My prayer is that God will take our heavy hearts and transform them into hearts on fire! Hearts willing to serve, to listen, to forgive, and to love boldly.
Shine, Shine, Shine!