Well, I was disappointed to say the least.  My childhood hero had been Shazaam. When I first heard there was a movie coming out, I was pumped.  As a child, I had asked my mom for a pillow. She asked, “Why?” I explained, “I am learning to fly like Shazaam but it is hurting my stomach cuz I haven’t figured it out yet.”  I was jumping off my father’s truck, stretching out my hands in full belief that it was just a matter of time before I took off into the air. But I was bruising my belly. My mom shut that down real quick.

We live in a day of heros that we call upon and they come running.  We put up the Bat signal and wait.. But God is not like this. I don’t mean to say that He is unavailable to help us.  He is always ready to be there for us (Psalm 46:1). But the Lord has another way of guarding us and protecting us from bad things.  And this brings us to the Verse of the Day:

Psalms 97:10

Let those who love the Lord hate evil,

for he guards the lives of his faithful ones

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Here, the Lord is connecting His protection to our faithfulness and love for Him.  When we love the Lord with all of our heart, we hate evil. Evil works to separate us from God.  We can’t say that we love someone while also loving something that separates us from that same person.  The word ‘evil’ here means to spoil. If something is going to spoil the blessings God has for you, stay clear.  Let me share another passage with you:

Job 28:28

And he said to the human race,

“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,

and to shun evil is understanding.”

Fear of the Lord is wisdom and shunning evil is understanding.  These are powerful principles. Let’s dig into them a bit more. Fear of the Lord is reverence.  It is honoring the Lord. It is responding to Him as if He really is who He says He is. So that when He speaks, we listen.  Listening to the Lord and honoring Him as God by obeying will cause us to shun evil and this brings understanding.  

When we sin, we will eventually see the results of the sin and how it worked to spoil our relationship with the Lord.  But the opposite is also true. When we obey and shun evil, we will see a different outcome that increases our understanding of God’s ways.  We are motivated and inspired to obey more fully because of our understanding.  

God is not a superhero that comes and saves us from evil.  He is God who not only delivers us from evil, but He also teaches us transforming our heart that we might not desire what is evil, but pursue those things that are excellent and praiseworthy.  He is so much more than a Superhero.

Do you interact with God like a superhero saving you from distress, but not allowing Him to change you?  Do you seek the wisdom of God’s ways that you might be guarded against evil?

Leave me a comment and let me know how I can pray for you.