The Power to Resist

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Pride is a taskmaster.  It gains a foothold and becomes a stronghold that the devil uses to keep you in bondage.  According to James, pride causes wars and quarrels because you want your own way.  The wars take place within you first and then spills out upon others.  The Message Bible says, “You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it.  You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. … You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to”.  In other words, pride will make you kill someone’s reputation and or launch violent attacks upon their status in life all because you want what they have.   James goes on to postulate that chasing after your own selfish ways will cause you to become an enemy of God and his ways.  God is truly not into pride.  In truth, he resists the proud, which are those who are willfully against Him, but He gives grace to the humble.  Since we know that pride comes from the devil, the question becomes, “How do I resist the urge and break the stronghold of pride?  The answer is simple, but most often overlooked:  “Let God work His will in you”.  You are the King’s kid.  There is no need to squabble or fight and take from others.  The King of kings, your heavenly Father, owns everything.  He is willing to give you everything that is wrapped up in His grace, even the wealth of the sinner, which has been store up for you, the righteous.  Ask your Father for the power to resist the devil and his stronghold of pride.  The devil cannot remain where the power of God is at work.  Resisting the devil renders him powerless and he will flee from you because the power at work in you is far greater than his perceived power.  In truth, he has no power; what he has is contingent upon what you are willing to give him.  Therefore, by the grace and power of God, you can shut him down.  The power to resist the devil is yours.  Submit to God and tell the devil to tie his running shoes and tie them tight because you are sending him on a journey far away from you.

Scripture References:  James 4:1-7; Proverbs 13:22; I John 4:4

Prayer for today:  Father, your word says for me to submit myself to You; resist the devil and he will flee from me.  I submit myself to you and I receive from Holy Spirit, who lives in me, the power to resist the devil and to make him flee from me.  In JESUS name, AMEN. 

Whatever you must do today, there is a grace for that.  Accept the grace and make it a sweatless day.

Love

Dianne