Evan Almighty

Movie Inspired Thoughts...



Many of us have always encountered certain periods where we questioned our faith in our walk with God. And we may sometimes ask God to refill our faith to the brim of our jar. God, He cannot affect your freewill, but when you ask, He will show and speak to you. And from the things he shows us, and the words he speak to us, we will often find ourselves refilling our jar of faith.

In the movie Evan Almighty, it shows Evan Baxtor, a news anchorman becoming elected as a congressman. The early part of the movie demonstrated Evan giving promises and claims to change the world. Also, as Evan and his family moved from their hometown into a huge mansion in the new city, his family prayed for certain things to happen in their life. Evan’s wife prayed for a closer bond within the family, their youngest son prayed to adopt a stray dog while Evan himself prayed to change the world.

The show depicted Evan becoming the Noah of New York City as he embarked in building an ark, as commanded by God. Evan himself didn’t build the ark but ran away from God. But that didn’t last long, for running away from God has its consequences as more and more weird things happened to Evan. When he finally accepted his mission, things didn’t turn out for the better. But faith kept him going, even when friends and family abandoned him.

But amazing how God works, for God spoke to Evan’s wife too, letting her know that amidst all these, He was also answering her prayer – for the family to become closer. And so they went back and eventually built the ark together as a family, as the Lord commanded. The day came for the flood to arrive and all the animals were loaded in the ark, but no flood came. Faith never left Evan as he trusted God and what He promised – that a flood will come. When the dam collapsed and flooded the land, the people finally believed, even though it was too late for some. And the evil never get away!

What can we learn from this movie? Although there was a man who played the role of God, we know that we won’t see God appear to us in this form in our life. God does speak to us, just as the way it seems in the movie, sometimes through the people around us, sometimes through the thoughts that arises in our mind. We will recognize that it is God’s words, for the thought is something that strikes us deep within, and gives us a revelation or WHAO type feeling. The movie also showed the different way God answers our prayers, the way we least expect or never expect it to happen. But despite all the trouble and adversities he could bring upon us, he is always in control. And what we gain from these is a point much higher than where we began.

This is a great reminder to us. Come what may, may we all remember Psalm 125:1, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” There will be people, who will not believe you, but you know your personal relationship with God, and your faith and trust in Him will be living testimonies for others. Sometimes people look at your life while you are at a difficult time, and question why you are still so faithful to God. Like Job 3:10 says, “…Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? …”