Resist the Devil - Have You Declared War?

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


Read those words, I mean really read them!!!  God tells us to submit to him and then he says RESIST the devil.  What do you do when you resist?  You fight!!  You refuse to give up.  You stand strong!  What happens when you do that?  The devil will flee. 




Have you been guilty of saying 'the devil just won't leave me alone'?  I have, I felt he was always on my back.  I felt he was interfering with my thoughts.  I have to admit to you that I now know that was because I had not submitted myself totally to God.  So I was in no shape to resist the devil.




Submission to God is scary and serious business.  But is joyful and delightful at the same time.  God is a safe shelter waiting for you to knock on that door, and He will open it up and welcome you it.  He will arm you to fight!  He will give you strength to refuse to give up.  He wants the devil off your back too.  But just as a parent stands back to allow their child to grow and experience some things on their own, waiting to help where they are truly needed, God is right there, ready to help.




I have to give a shout out today to two friends who write blogs.  They have been such an encouragement to me recently.  At times what they were writing echoed the cries of my own heart and I was so overwhelmed that God would show me so clearly that the message He was giving is needed by us all. 


One is Melissa Mann who writes Moments Along The Journey , oh how God is pouring out His spirit in her writings!  And how much I understand the words and emotions behind those blogs.  I have lived too often in those places.




The other is Allie Tanner and her blog Out of the Shadows--From Darkness to Light , I have seen growth, joy, sorrow but in all I have seen realness.  They have showed me that resisting the devil is real and God gives that strength.  They have touched my heart and encouraged me. 


I love to read, I read whenever I get a chance.  But for a time I found I wasn't reading things that helped me.  Now, I know you can read just for enjoyment and I sometimes still do that.  But time is limited, we are all rushed and we all have more commitments than we can make most days.  So choosing wisely what I read is important.  No book or blog is more important than Bible reading but reading books, blogs, magazines that help me understand the Bible, my own situations, my needs in my spiritual life can help me grow.


That is important to me.  I wish I had realized how important sooner.  I wish I had spent more time in Bible study, more time reading authors who would challenge me and encourage me.  But the great news is it isn't too late.  I still can do that.  I want to be equipped to resist the devil.  I can't do that on my own.  I must submit to God and I must be battle ready. 


I'm going to quote Mrs. Clara again 'Raise'em up Lord, Raise'em up'.  If you don't know who Mrs. Clara is, go see War Room today!