James 4:7—Submit and resist

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

The word “therefore” in this verse is a signal—it points back to what was previously expressed. Here’s what James had just written: “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (verse 6). “Therefore” you submit to God 1.) because He is opposed to the proud. That means that pride—i.e. arrogance, smugness, and self-importance—cannot coexist with submission to God.

You also “therefore” submit to God 2.) because He gives greater grace to the humble. What does it mean to be humble? You acknowledge God in all your ways; you acknowledge your shortcomings and sin to Him, and you acknowledge your ongoing need of Him. You draw near to Him, you walk with Him, and you wait for Him to lead you in decisions both great and small. The humble man operates with the diflucan diemetzgerei.at recognition of his enormous need not only for God, but also his need to obey Him as well.

If you as a Christian consistently choose to overlook the Word or to ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit, figuring that you have the safety net of grace to fall back on when you mess up (and you will), then you really aren’t submitting to God.

Therefore, submit to God.

Find out what He says about X, Y, and Z in your life. Dare to let Him correct the various areas of your lifestyle, behaviors, and activities. Let Him meddle with your thinking. And as you do, you will be submitting to God and will open the door for His greater grace to transform your life.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Although Satan was stripped of his dominion over you through Jesus’ substitutionary work on the cross, he still prowls around as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (see 1 Peter 5:8). The devil already has a tight rein over the lives of those who are lost in their sin; to him, if he can succeed in keeping their minds blinded to their need for a Savior, they’re as good as devoured. Mission accomplished, so he thinks.

But with you and other believers it’s a different story. Because God ransomed you through the shed blood of Jesus from your captivity to the authority and control of darkness, whisking you to safety and http://sitederencontresexe.net/prix-levitra-italie/ relocating you to the kingdom of His beloved Son (see Colossians 1:13), the adversary prowls, seeking to devour. He is on a mission to eliminate—or at the very least, to suppress—your vital, genuine connection to the Lord and to render you ineffective as a servant of Christ or a light to those around you. He comes as a thief and a liar to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10 and John 8:44).

James directed you to resist him—not to tremble in fear, not to compromise, not to quit. You are charged to withstand him in the authority of Jesus—and he has no choice but to flee.

But first things first—submit to God. Don’t attempt to resist the devil in one area of life while you refuse God’s correction in another. Submit to God first, and then as you resist the devil, your efforts will succeed and won’t be undermined by disobedience in other areas of your life. The Lord will pour out His greater grace, and you will stand resolutely, steeped in a power greater than your own. And that will force the devil to flee.

Here’s to submitted resistance!

Dorothy

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9