We’ve all heard someone say, “the devil made me do it!” Dear friends, the devil doesn’t force anyone to do anything. Sometimes we feel weak. We give in to temptation and regret our actions once again. We like to blame someone or something else and who better to blame than the devil himself? How do we win these battles? How do we resist the devil, our tempter, the one whose job it is to keep us away from God’s plan for our lives?
We submit. Yuk, what a negative word. Submitting to God is very different than submitting to another human being. How silly we must look when we wage war on God! When I learned of God’s love for me, following God’s ways became more of a delight. It doesn’t feel like the word submission feels in our culture today. I give myself to God, I live according to God’s Word, I submit to God’s authority. This is a joy to know: I’m not God. I don’t know everything. So the first step to resisting the devil is to let go and submit to God.
Step two is to resist the devil. Submit to God and resist the devil. Say no to sinful things. Say no to temptation. We can even verbally holler for the devil to get away from us in Jesus name! I’ve had these moments where I’ve uttered these words. I’ve declared who I belong to, whose team I’m on, and that I will not throw it all away.
Resist and the devil will flee from you.
The very next verse says, “draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
What a beautiful image I have when I read that. God comes close to the one reaching out to Him. God does not turn away. God gives us what we need to life this life. Resist the devil and draw near to God.
I love James 2:19, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!”
Evil shudders in fear of God. We need not be afraid of what we can resist. When we resist the enemy, the devil, Satan will flee!
Jeni Martin Johnson 
Leave a Reply