James 4:6-7 “God resists (opposes) the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Question:
How do I resist the devil?
Answer:
Submit yourself to God, and in doing so, you will be resisting the devil. The focus should always be to draw near to God and let Him draw near to you rather than trying to oppose the devil. The devil is the opposite of God, so you oppose everything the devil is by drawing near to God.
Explanation:
We often think of resisting the devil as trying to oppose and fight against him. (As if he deserves all our attention.) But what if you looked at it from a different perception? Instead of fighting against the devil, you withstand him by being the opposite of him. Beating the devil is not your main goal; it’s drawing close to God and submitting to Him. In the process of submitting to God, you will overcome the devil.
Jesus was always an opposition to the devil and his children. Just being the Son of God is an opposition to the devil. By doing the works of God, He was resisting the devil and stopping his evil works in people’s lives. Jesus walked on earth in a manner that pleased God, and His focus was His Father’s will. If the devil got in the way, then Jesus dealt with him; otherwise, Jesus was being the Son of God and doing what He was supposed to do in submission to His Father.
Your agreement with God is your disagreement with the devil and your resistance to him.
You will have to confront the devil sometimes. But if and when you do, you will submit to God and not try to defeat him on your own. If you continually try to resist the devil and sin is always on your mind, you are doing it wrong. The first commandment is to love God, not hate the devil. Hating sin is the result of loving God first.
What to do:
Instead of focusing on trying to overcome the devil, turn your attention to Jesus Christ and submit to everything, He tells you. You will oppose everything the devil stands for in your submission to Him.
Scriptural references:
James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5:6-11; 1 Kings 21:18-24