READING: Jeremiah 27, 28, 29, 24; James 4
As a student of spiritual warfare, I’ve read about all kinds of approaches to warfare over the years—some that are quite questionable. Here are some that come to mind:
- Giving the devil more attention than the Bible does. The Bible is a book about God, not about the devil. Giving Satan more attention than God is a wrong direction.
- Finding demons behind every rock. This often happens for folks who are newly studying spiritual warfare. In their zeal, they find demons everywhere.
- Talking to the devil more than talking to God. Some people spend more time rebuking the devil directly than they do speaking to God.
It’s this last problem that comes to mind when I read James 4 today. James reminds us that the devil is against us, but he also gives us clear direction in dealing with the enemy: “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). We must live humbly and submissively before God—and it’s that lifestyle of obedience that resists the devil. There is no “super-spiritual secret” to defeating the enemy; rather, we simply must submit to God. My concern is that some believers talk much about resisting and give far too little attention to submitting.
May all of us submit fully to God this week—and resist the enemy in the process.
PRAYER: “Lord, help me to keep my attention fully on You this week.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Jeremiah 37, 21, 34; Psalm 79; James 5
