Read James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
We are commanded to submit to God and resist the devil. Before preaching I often pray aloud: “O God for these three things we pray: to see You more clearly, to love You more dearly and to follow You more nearly, day by day.”
These three words know, love and follow are the key to genuine submission. We cannot submit to God unless we know Him. One of the main ways of achieving this is through reading and understanding the Bible, (possibly with the help of daily notes), through Bible study groups, Christian teaching and literature. We will discover that God is not a hard taskmaster but a loving Father seeking our welfare. Therefore we obey His instructions not primarily out of fear or duty but because of love.
Resisting the devil involves knowing, hating and avoiding. Firstly, we must know the Scriptures to find out what is good and what is evil. Jesus knew and used the Scriptures to defeat the devil’s temptations. We must discover the ways in which the devil attacks us – always at our weakest points. Secondly, God hates sin – see Proverbs 6:16-19. We too must do the same. Thirdly, we should avoid both the tempter and his temptations. If, when tempted, we transform our thoughts and occupy ourselves profitably, the devil will flee from us. Unfortunately he leaves us only for a season!
Jesus Himself experienced this: “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13). In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said to Peter, James and John: “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” (Luke 22:40). He then prayed three times to His Father and even though He knew the horrific cost, He told His Father that He was willing to take the cup. Once again the devil was resisted.
Do we SUBMIT to God and RESIST the devil
or RESIST God and SUBMIT to the devil?
This meditation is extracted from “Transformation from Belief to Behaviour: 39 Lenten Meditations on the Letter of James” by Peter Young and used with permission by the author. It may be used solely for personal, noncommercial, and informational purposes. Republication or redistribution of this devotional is prohibited.
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