Resist the Devil

Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 CSB

Read James 4:6-12

When my kids were little there was this Christian entertainer called the Donut Man. He had fun ways that he taught and encouraged kids to learn and even memorize verses. One that my son loved was a military type theme and it was for James 4:7.  If you say it with a military style cadence it’s very catchy and very quickly was one of our favorites. Try it for yourself.

Submit to God.

Resist the devil.

And he will flee from you!

Great message, but it’s a verse that sometimes we pick apart and just choose to stand on the parts we like. I have had times where I was frustrated because it definitely did NOT seem like the devil was fleeing from me no matter how hard I was resisting him. Ever been there? You know, when you try not to give in to THAT temptation or you fail in the same way again?!?! 

When this happens to me it’s like I’m transported back to my suburban full of kids declaring with the donut man the words to James 4:7. And God points out to me that I keep leaving off that first phrase-submit to God. Here’s the deal. Those 3 phrases are written in that order for a reason. When you and I try to resist the devil on our own strength, it’s probably not good enough. At least that’s been my experience. My strength is so limited BUT when I submit to God first. Then I get to resist the devil on God’s power and that’s a game changer every time!!

Friend, look at verse 8. When we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. And guess what? When the devil is after you, the safest place you can be is near to the Father. Submit to Him. Draw near to Him and watch how fast the devil flees to get away…

• How do you see yourself trying to resist on your own strength and skipping the first of verse 7?
• What battles are you fighting where you need God’s strength?
• How will you submit to Him and draw near to the Father today?

Rachel L