You shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among your. And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. Deuteronomy 12:19,20
Living on the East Coast, we hear about the paths of coming hurricanes every year. The National Weather Service is continually trying to improve the warning time they can give people with a storm is heading their way, believing that the longer warning time a person has to evacuate an area, the better chance they have to flee the impending storm.
Through God's Word and Spirit, we are warned of an impending storm. This is not a weather-related storm of wind and rain, but a storm of evil that Satan desires to send against every believer. God's Word is clear on how we are to respond to a warning of impending evil: we are to flee from it. We are not able to stand and fight the wiles of the devil. He is called the deceiver for a good reason. Because of this, God tells us to flee evil.
In our humanity, we often feel as though we can flirt with evil and remain pure. But why should we think so highly of ourselves? God's desire for us is to do just what Joseph did when he was pressured by Potiphar's wife to commit sin. Scripture tells us, "She caught him by his garment, saying, 'Lie with me.' But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside" (Genesis 39:12). We are to flee temptation as quickly as we can. If we're hesitating and struggling, we need to pray about the sin we are desiring to commit and depend on God's help to make the right choice.
The Lord desires His followers to strive for holiness in their lives because He is holy. We should desire to model Christ to all those around us, and we will never do this as long as we allow evil to be part of our lives. Do you desire to be more like Christ? Do you desire to show Him to the world? If so, you must learn to flee evil when the deceiver seeks to tempt you to sin.
Father, I confess that in my humanity, I am tempted by evil each day. I also confess that I cannot withstand the devil on my own. Help me flee any evil that comes into my life. Lord, I desire to be more like You each day. Help me to be close to You and clean in Your sight every day of my life. Amen.