Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (V.7)
James continues his theme of encouraging his readers to sort themselves out by turning our attention to God rather than spending our time focussing on worldly stuff! I wonder how the advertising industry would receive a comment like that? Our problem is that the world is so focussed on having something ‘better’ that we often don’t have space for the one thing that really is BETTER – Jesus. The trouble is that we’re constantly bombarded with advertisements and peer pressure to get the next new thing or to be part of the latest fashion or trend that we invest huge amounts of resource and energy into achieving those aims instead of looking to heaven and asking God what He thinks is good for us.
So, James offers a simple solution, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (V.7)” It really is that simple – submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. It’s what Jesus modelled for us when he was fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and nights. The devil tempted Him to change rocks into food, to give him everything the world had to offer if Jesus would worship him and even to injure Himself to test God. In every case Jesus resisted by quoting scripture back at the devil. In the end we read in Luke 4:13 that the devil, “Left Him until an opportune time.” James says we should do likewise. When we’re tempted by worldly things we should resist the devil in the name of Jesus (quote scripture where necessary) and he (the devil) will flee. We will be more focussed on Jesus. Temptation will become easier to manage and life will be… BETTER!
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Questions:
What are you being tempted by at the present time? Material things? A better job, status or role? A different relationship? A different set of priorities? What do you need to do about it?
Prayer:
In the name of Jesus, I turn away all unholy temptation(s). I resist Satan and his cohorts and command them to be gone from my life. I seek only to see that God’s will is done on the earth as it is in heaven, Amen.