Article: RESIST the DEVIL | Jacob Varghese
James 4:7 tells us what to do when the devil is prowling around us to destroy our lives: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
The Bible says ‘The Name of Jesus is the Name at which Satan will always flee.’ I want to tell you that anytime in our life if we are in a difficult situation or facing some overwhelming problem, when we are facing something for which there appears to be no human answer, call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus. Say to Him, Lord Jesus, You are on my side against the devil, help me now; and then turn to Satan and tell him, In Jesus Name I resist you, Satan. I want to tell you that Satan will flee from us immediately, because Jesus defeated him on the cross. Satan is powerless against us when we walk in the light of God and resist him in Jesus’ Name.
I want all of us to know this clearly that Satan was defeated once and for all by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. We don’t need ever again to be afraid of Satan. He cannot trouble us, he cannot harm us; he may tempt us, he may attack us. But the grace of God in Christ will always make us victorious over him if we humble ourselves; submit to God and walk in His light at all times. There is tremendous power in the light of God. Satan the prince of darkness can never enter the realm of light. If we think Satan has power over any believers, it is because they walk in darkness, living in some secret sin, not forgiving others, or being jealous of someone, or pursuing some selfish ambition in their lives, etc. Then Satan gets power over such believers; otherwise, he cannot touch us.
Never allow the devil to pollute our minds in any way. If our mind is impure, we won’t be able to use the Name of Jesus against Satan effectively. The Name of Jesus is not like some magic mantra that can be repeated to ward off evil. No! We have to submit ourselves to God first. Only then will the devil flee from us when we resist him. But the devil won’t be afraid of us if we don’t submit ourselves in every area of our life to God. Practice the discerning of good and evil – then resist Satan whenever we recognize wrongdoing in our behavior or thoughts. If we take a stand against Satan, the Almighty God who indwells in us through the Holy Spirit will fight on our behalf until Satan flees from us.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you… this is not an emergency resource. Resisting the devil is an everyday, any moment tool we employ as the devil attacks with wrong thoughts, carnal desires, or ungodly attitudes. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He resisted Satan by quoting Scripture. We must study the word and store its wisdom in our hearts in order to discern good and evil, and to be equipped to resist. Know that our Lord is faultless in His faithfulness. If we resist the devil in His name, if we order Him away from us, using our fighter verses from Bible and standing on the authority of Christ Jesus, the devil and his temptations will evaporate from our presence. Our Lord tells us to be holy, for He is holy! We desperately need this tool daily!
When we read James 4:7&8 together we understand, James conveys three concise instructions- Submit, resist, draw near; each one is needed to equip us for living a successful Christian life in this world and every day we need to employ them. Submit yourselves to the Lord. Of course submission to God, involves two actions; resisting Satan, and drawing near to God. However, it is not enough to resist the devil; we must draw near to God and remain in close communion with Him so that Satan will never be successful in his attacks against us. As a Christian if we take the first step of faith and come close to God, God will come close to us. As believers we can come close to God at any time and the devil will fee away.
JACOB VARGHE
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