Can I draw you a picture of how I think James 4:7 plays out in the spiritual realm? First, let’s take a peek at what it says:
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7 NIV)
I think we give the devil a bit too much of our attention, and so my guess is that the a lot of believers spend a lot of their time on the second half of that verse.
We rebuke the devil. We yell at the devil. We blame the devil.
We become so focused on resisting and defeating him that he ends up consuming a lot of our focus.
I think that’s his plan.
Now, track with me as I describe a better way to beat the enemy.
Picture yourself in a sparring match with the devil. He yells lies at you, You yell truth at him. He jabs. You jab. He gets in your head, and you can’t get him out. He slowly begins to overpower you, and you realize you don’t have what it takes in your own strength to beat him.
What if, instead of continuing to fight, we simply turned away from the enemy and bowed to God? “Submit yourselves to God…” As long as we’re fighting with the devil, we’re all the devil can see. But when we bow ourselves before God, guess who the devil suddenly sees?
The God of Angel Armies. (Psalm 46:1-3)
Our Shield. (Psalm 18:2)
Our Defender and Protector. (Psalm 91:2)
Our Fortress and Strong Tower. (Psalm 144:2)
He sees the God who made a public spectacle of him at the cross. (Colossians 2:15)
The point is that he doesn’t see us. Sometimes the best way to beat someone who is stronger than you is to bring along someone else who is bigger than he is. And Jesus is the One who never leaves our side. Truly, the battle belongs to the Lord, and when we take up our position of submission before Him, He fights for us.
Bow your life to the Father, and watch the devil run as he sees Him is all His glory.
