Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
Never forget these words, and share them with your children and grandchildren often.
If you resist the Devil, he will flee from you. He will leave your presence and move on to an easier target. Paul himself knew the Devil tried to take advantage of early Christians. The Devil was always trying to hamstring the early church. He “hindered” it, and cast devious plots against it, (1 Thessalonians 2:18, 2 Corinthians 2:11).
However, if you submit to God and His Word, you will resist the Devil by default. If you are following God, then you are unable, better said, unwilling to follow the Devil.
In fact, that’s the point on James 4:6-7.
Now, this doesn’t mean the Devil is tempting you at every turn in life. Quite the contrary, “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed,” (James 1:14).
So in reality, we allow ourselves to be tempted by allowing the world into our life. The world offers many temptations, and every man has his own weakness.
Nevertheless, this is another way the Devil can tempt you. He may not directly tempt you, but if temptation leads you to sin, then you’re headed in the wrong direction anyway. You’re not fleeing the Devil or his world.
Make no mistake about it, the Devil is “the god of this world,” (2 Corinthians 4:4). That’s why it’s your duty and obligation to flee from him, and anything that resembles the Devil and his evil deeds.
Don’t even “give place to the devil,” (Ephesians 4:27).
Don’t give him the time of day.
You want to remember, Jesus resisted the Devil a few different times, (Matthew 4:3-11).
That’s why we’re supposed to suite up with the “whole armour of God” in order to “stand against the wiles of the devil,” (Ephesians 6:11).
Do you know what “wiles” are?
They are the Devil’s “tricks.”
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They are the Devil’s traps of temptation that he places before you by using the world. If you veer away from following God, the Devil will ensure the world shows up at your door. If your weakness is whiskey, women and drugs, here they come.
When we don’t have God within us, evil is coming seven fold, (Matthew 12:43-45).
That’s why we don’t deviate from God.
That’s why we focus on the Heavenly things above us, not on the things of the earth. Remember, this is the Devil’s domain and he is not your friend, no matter how much “fun” the world seems to offer.
The Devil doesn’t love you, he is “the accuser” who berates each and every one of us “before our God day and night,” just as he did concerning Job, (Revelation 12:10).
Instead, the Devil is “a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,” (1 Peter 5:8).
Don’t let him devour you and your family, flee from him, and instruct others how to escape.
Don’t get tangled up with his tricks and traps.
Instead, submit to God, resist the Devil, and remain “stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world,” (1 Peter 5:9).
That’s right, you’re not the only one being tempted by this cruel world.
So are the rest of your Christian brothers and sisters.
So let’s stand together in the faith, so we can overcome him together.