Standing Firm on His Authority
Friday, August 2
Standing Firm on His Authority
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
In our spiritual journey, we often encounter challenges and temptations that seek to divert us from God’s path. What do we want to do when things get really hard? We want to run. We want to escape. We want to hide. But God tells us to do quite the opposite. God tells us to RESIST. Reading today’s verse in the amplified version this verse reads “So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.” Using this translation there are two very important words we must take note of: “authority” and “stand firm”. So why are you hearing this today? Maybe it’s because God doesn’t want you to run from this. Maybe He’s telling us right now, “No, you stand there and resist this!”
The enemy has come after your family. He’s come up against your marriage. He’s salivating over your passion and your purpose. He is attacking your health. He is poisoning your mind with lies. Your confidence, your healing, your calling … it’s all his tasty target. Every single good thing in your life has made the devil lick his lips and come in for the kill. Today, now God says, resist the devil and he will flee! You don’t resist the devil when you curl up in a ball and pull the covers over your head. You don’t resist the devil when you give up and walk away. You don’t resist the devil when you self-isolate by putting up your walls to keep everyone out. No, you resist the devil when you take a stand, and you keep standing there. Stand your ground and don’t you leave it! With the authority of Jesus, you tell the enemy he MUST flee!
Humbling ourselves before God means acknowledging His sovereignty and lordship over our lives. It requires us to submit our will to His, trusting that His plans and purposes are for our good. This humility is not about thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less. It’s about recognizing that we need God’s strength and guidance in every aspect of our lives.
The second part of the verse commands us to resist the devil. This implies an active stance against evil. Resistance involves standing firm in our faith, knowing the facts written in God’s Word to be true and refusing to give in to temptations, lies, and deceptions. The devil seeks to exploit our weaknesses and doubts, but we are called to stand firm!
Resisting the devil means being vigilant in prayer, grounded in God’s Word, and supported by a community of faith. It requires us to put on the full armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:10-18, equipping ourselves with truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer.
When we do, the promise attached to this command is powerful: “and he will flee from you.” When we humble ourselves before God and actively resist the devil, we are assured of victory. The enemy cannot stand against the power of God working in and through us. He will flee because he knows he has no authority over a believer who is fully submitted to God and armed with His truth.
Whose authority are you standing on? If it’s God then you can stand firm, not run away from the enemy.
Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before You, acknowledging Your sovereignty and power. Strengthen us to resist the devil and stand firm in our faith. Equip us with Your truth and righteousness, and surround us with a community of believers who will support us. We trust in Your promise that the enemy will flee from us as we stand firm in You. Amen.