Don’t Submit to the Devil

Don’t submit to the devil. Submit to God. Don’t resist God. Resist the devil. No, this is not a play on words. Nor is it a funny puzzle mixing words around in a well known scripture. It is a warning. The Lord has fenced me in on all sides with the scripture, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7 KJV).” Why will He not leave me alone regarding this scripture?

I desperately need it, and just today He showed me how mixed up I have been. I have been submitting to the devil and resisting God rather than the other way around. The scripture teaches me to submit to God, not the devil. But in my thought life, I have been submitting to exactly what the devil wants to me to think about. In the process, I have been resisting God.

The next scripture says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…(James 4:8 KJV).” The Lord convicted me that I have been drawing near to the devil by constantly accepting the negative thoughts the devil is sending my way. Guess what the devil does when I draw nigh to him? You guessed it. He draws even closer to me.

While I memorized these scriptures long ago, I have not been applying them. I have essentially stuffed my “medicine” into the medicine cabinet and forgotten to take it. This is not take-it-or-leave-it aspirin. This is medicine I need to take every day of my life in order to live – and to live abundantly.

The next time the devil throws his thoughts at me, I need to remember. My job is to submit to God so I can resist the devil, not to submit to the devil and resist God.

Have you ever made the same mistake? Are you making it now? When God showed me what I had done, I got down on the floor on my face in tears and repented. Now I am trying my best to remember to take my medicine so I can live the way God intended. Why not do the same? 

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