Verse of the Day 5-23-22

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10

In our determination to gain victory in spiritual battles against evils, many of us as followers of Christ tend to focus on the last part of this verse about resisting the devil. By sheer determination, we try to resist Satan’s schemes, accusations and temptations; and for a brief time, we may experience what seems like success. But, in the end, we are often left with a sense of frustration, discouragement and defeat as we finally give in to Satan’s relentless pressure to yield to sin. In this situation, the problem usually stems from two things: (1) overlooking the first and most important aspect of this verse-“Submit yourselves, then, to God”-which must be the primary aspect of a spiritual victory and (2) trying to resist Satan in our own efforts, which is actually a consequence of not first submitting to God.

The key to spiritual victory is complete submission to God rather than depending on your own resistance to the devil. This involves:

1. Letting go of any sin you may be hiding in your heart
2. Praying for God’s help, strength and guidance
3. Giving up any habits or activities that may give sin or temptation an entrance into your life or that may be hindering your spiritual progress
4. Surrendering your own preconceived ideas and strategies on how to overcome sin or Satan and relying on God’s strategies, which we will show you as you continue to study his Word and pray
5. Doing exactly what God shows you and following the Holy Spirit’s guidance
6. Actively pursuing God’s purposes and taking positive action so as to occupy your attention with spiritual matters
7. Keeping a humble attitude toward God, others and the situation in general
8. Turning your attention fully to God with the desire to do what honors him
9. Continuing to rely on God and pursue his purposes after you have gained spiritual victory
10. Giving gratitude to God for helping you resist and overcome Satan

Today’s Bible Readings:

2 Samuel 2:12-3:39, John 13:1-30, Psalm 119:1-16 and Proverbs 15:29-30