Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)
There is no better story in the Bible to illustrate what happens to someone who is not able to withstand in the evil day than the story of Lot. Lot was referred to as being just which leads me to conclude that he was a believer whose faith was in Christ. It is difficult to imagine how a believer’s life could become so ruined as he was. The tragedy that befell him is almost beyond comprehension. He lost his home. He lost his wife. He lost his children. He lost his integrity. He lost his morality. He lost everything! One can only imagine the tragic heartbreak Lot experienced as he looked back at his life. What happened to Lot that caused him such destruction? When the evil day arrived, Lot was unable to withstand it.
Make no mistake. It is not a question of if the evil day will come but rather when it will come. The Bible does not say that there is a possibility of the evil day coming. It says, … that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day… Our evil day is coming. The evil day will come for every Christian. The evil day will come for every family. The evil day will come for every church. The question is not whether it will come, but whether we can withstand it when it arrives.
What is the evil day? For Lot, the evil day was not after he arrived in Sodom. It was not after he became a powerful man within that wicked city. The evil day for Lot was that day when Abraham told him to choose which way he wanted to go. The herdsmen of Lot and the herdsmen of Abraham were in conflict with each other. Because Abraham realized that they could not exist in the same location, he gave Lot a choice. Lot could choose whichever direction he wanted to take his family, his servants, and his herds.
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. (Genesis 13:10)
Lot was not naïve. He knew of the wickedness that existed in both Sodom and Gomorrah. However, when he saw those well-watered plains, he could not help himself. The Bible says that it was as lush as the garden of the Lord. Overestimating his own faith and strength, Lot ignored the danger of Sodom’s influence and chose what appealed to his eyes. He separated from God’s man, his Uncle Abraham, and went his own way toward Sodom. For Lot, his evil day was the day he made a decision based upon what looked good to him rather than what was safe for him and his family.
We make choices so carelessly. We leave a church because of the appeal of the flesh or because we have been offended, never considering the fact that it just may well be our evil day. Young people make career choices or decisions as to where they will go to college, not thinking it might be their evil day. Families move from one city to another without considering whether there is a church that can adequately meet their needs and keep them in the right path, with no thought that it could be their evil day. Churches choose to change what seem to be little things so as to be more relevant or to copy some contemporary pastor who seems to have a good idea, never considering that it could be their evil day.
In Ephesians 5, Paul speaks of that which leads us to prepare for the evil day. Upon examination of this passage, we see how we can prepare ourselves for the evil day. This passage can be applied to Lot as well as to us.
- See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, (Ephesians 5:15) When Abraham gave Lot the choice of going to the right or to the left, what would have been the circumspect thing for Lot to do? If God saw something in Abraham that would cause Him to bless Abraham, could not Lot have seen those same qualities? Would it not have been wise for Lot to say to Abraham, “Uncle Abraham, what do you think is best for me and my family?” The words walk circumspectly mean, “to be watchful, discreet, cautious, prudent, and well ” Did Lot act circumspectly when he made his decision? No. Instead, he made a decision that was based upon what was best humanly speaking rather than spiritually speaking.
When the evil day comes, will we be circumspect or will we make foolish decisions? Will we do what is best for us and our families spiritually, or will we do what is best for us and our families economically? Tragically, we usually do not realize our evil day has come until it has already passed. We look back on decisions we have made, for which we are now paying a high price, and wish we could go back and change our minds. Many parents have regretted decisions they had made in their evil day when the lives of their children have been completely lost to the world. We need to heed the Scripture. …walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.
- Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16) We should consider very carefully the way this Scripture is First of all, consider the meaning of the word redeem. That word means, “to buy back that which is or was already yours.” If we invest an amount of money into stocks or bonds, we are doing so with the idea of redeeming those bonds for that money. In other words, we are putting our money somewhere where it will bring a return on that investment. The Bible says redeeming the time, meaning that we should invest our time. We should consider where our time is best invested for eternity. In that evil day, we should examine our lives, realizing that God has given us our lives for the purpose of bringing glory to Him. Lot looked at the material gain in making his decision rather than in how he could best invest his life for the good of God. Unlike his Uncle Abraham, who left his home country with no idea of his final destination, Lot saw his time as his own rather than belonging to God. Our lives are not our own, Friends. When we are faced with life’s decisions, we must see it as the evil day and make those decisions based upon our time being best used for God’s purpose.
- Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord (Ephesians 5:17) When the evil day came for Lot, he lacked the understanding of what God’s will was for his own life and that of his family. People end up out of the will of God because they never consider what is the will of God. They leave the church because of hurt feelings. They marry the wrong person because of romantic feelings. They change their standards in the church because they feel they are too strict. Rather than making decisions based upon an understanding of God’s will, too often, people make decisions based upon feelings. That is exactly what Lot did.
- And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit: (Ephesians 5:18) When Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the land was as lush as the very Garden of Eden, he was intoxicated by his excitement and made a decision based on the flesh, not on the Spirit. When our eyes guide our decision-making, we are not walking in the Spirit. Many wrong decisions have been made in the evil day because we have been deceived by our eyes, just as Lot was. Remember that we are to walk by faith and not by sight.
- Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; (Ephesians 5:19) I do not know the kind of music to which Lot was listening, but I would guess it was not the right kind of We place far too little importance on how music affects our decisions. Music is powerful. The wrong music will hurt our ability to withstand in the evil day, while good music will strengthen us. Music determines direction. When music changes in a church, the standards will soon change. When music changes, an evangelistic emphasis becomes a “worship” emphasis. Many have faced their evil day unable to withstand because of the music they were allowing into their lives.
- Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; (Ephesians 5:20) What causes someone like Lot to choose the well-watered plains rather than being content with something less? Undoubtedly, ingratitude played a part. Please follow When God called Abraham, He promised to bless him. Abraham could have left Lot behind and taken all of his substance with him to receive the blessing that God had promised. Instead, Abraham took Lot with him. There are those who believe that Abraham was disobedient in taking Lot; nevertheless, he did. It allowed Lot the opportunity to be a part of Abraham’s blessing; however, he was not grateful for what his uncle had done for him. Lot was in a heathen land when God called Abraham out. Abraham took him from that heathen land to share in the blessings of God.
Many times, Christians cannot see how good God has been to them and how He has blessed them where they are.
In their discontentment and ingratitude, they do not have the ability to withstand in the evil day. Gratitude plays a big role in our ability to withstand when that evil day comes. What made the prodigal leave home? He was ungrateful. What causes a family to leave the church where they found Christ and have been taught the Word of God? They are ungrateful. Stay grateful in order to be prepared for the evil day.
- Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of (Ephesians 5:21) Submission is highly underrated in being prepared for the evil day. What should Lot have done when faced with the decision of where to go? He should have submitted himself to Abraham. He should have said, “Uncle Abraham, you are my uncle and the one whom God has chosen; therefore, I submit to you because of my fear of God.” People do not submit because they do not fear God. It is not because of the flaws of the leader to whom we refuse to submit. The challenge is not fearing God enough to submit. Let me explain.
When we fear God, we have faith that God will intercede and intervene in our lives, even when the person in authority makes a mistake or proves himself to be fallible. Abraham proved he was not perfect, time and time again; but he was still the one God chose. Lot would have been wise to have submitted to him, knowing that God was able to intervene. When we come to the evil day, we often look at man rather than God. If we looked at God, we could submit to authority much more easily and be prepared to withstand in the evil day.
Let me repeat something I said earlier in this chapter. The question is not if the evil day will come. The question is when it will come. Our evil day is coming. Will we be able to withstand in that day? Lot was not able to stand because he was not prepared. Christians, we must prepare ourselves with the principles that are given specifically in God’s Word to equip us for that evil day.
Pastor Neal, through his preaching and his counseling, displays the compassionate heart of a pastor, follows the true leading of the Holy Spirit, and expresses a fervent desire to see lost souls come to know Christ. It is his ultimate desire to see the greater Jacksonville area reached for the cause of Christ and for revival to come to Northeast Florida.
