Daily Verse: James 4:7

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

If we want to make a change for the Lord…if we want to live each new day in greater discipline and obedience to him, then we must be committed to actively move from where we are standing. The text above calls us into action…it calls us to actively “Resist the devil” in order to submit ourselves to the Lord. In order to live a life for the Lord, we must resist the sin that plagues our lives. It doesn’t seem logical that we can simply keep living the sinful status quo and expect things to improve. If we have some sinful habit, we must actively kick it to the curb. If we regularly speak sinful words, then we must actively choose to change our words. If we are engaging in some sinful behavior, then we must actively make a change in that behavior. But the key part about this resistance is that we are not meant to do it alone. In fact, we will be unsuccessful in defeating sin if we go at it alone. There has been only One that has successfully defeated sin…there is only One that has an undefeated record against the devil. That One is Jesus…the very image of God in the flesh. He is actively pursuing us, eager to become a part of our lives, and cast that undefeated right hook to the jaw of the devil. Sin can be a real anchor in our lives…it can drag us into some dark places and make life seem downright miserable. But when we genuinely and regularly call Christ into the mix, we can rise above the devil. Through the Holy Spirit, we can resist satan’s grip, his nonsense, his deceiving and destructive ways. And when we resist him, he walks away…he flees, moves on, acknowledges that he can’t stand toe to toe with this heavyweight named Jesus. But the devil is a resilient fella and the battle is ongoing. He is bound to return down the line when he sees an opportunity to snatch us back into his world. But when we stay deeply rooted in Christ, the devil will once again retreat with a fat lip, licking his wounds from the beating he has just taken at the hands of the Savior. May we actively pursue Christ with each new day, willingly kicking sin from our lives, and submitting ourselves to the Lord! To God be the glory!