Resist the Devil by Resisting the Devilish Impulse to Distrust God
DEVOTION • James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.“
Read time: 3 min
The scene was gut-wrenching. Hundreds of limp and broken bodies lay scattered at the base of Suicide Cliff on Saipan, an island in the western Pacific Ocean. In July 1944, when U.S. Marines had all but wrested the island from Japanese control, remnants of the defeated Japanese troops did the unthinkable. They (perhaps sincerely) convinced the native islanders that the Americans would rape, torture and kill any civilians taken alive. Civilian suicides resulted. Whole families—especially women and children—gathered and leapt from the island’s 800-feet cliff in plain sight of Marines and interpreters pleading with them to stop. All for a lie. A simple, plausible, lethal lie.
Our archenemy, Satan, is similarly at work in our world, murdering, lying, and deceiving (John 8:44). It’s in this light that the apostle James pleads with us to resist Satan’s plausible lies, to step away from the fatal cliffs of devilish pride and back onto the firm ground of humble surrender to the authority of Christ.
Recognize Satan’s Influence in Your Life.
James 4 shows at least six descriptors of a satanically influenced life. Are any of these true of you?
Contentious and hurtful (v.1)
Prayerless (v.2)
Self-focused and manipulative in prayer (v.3)
At peace with the world’s values system (v.4)
Judgmental of fellow believers (v.11)
Boastfully self-reliant (v.13)
James rebukes these behaviors and offers the remedy:
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jam 4:7).
Not every thought you think is yours, or every word you say. This isn’t superstition; it’s Scripture. Shortly after the Apostle Peter confessed faith in Christ (Matt 16:16) he rebuked Jesus for purposing to die and rise again. The Lord’s response to Peter is face-blanching:
“Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (v. 23).
Peter spoke but with Satan’s words. One need not be possessed of Satan to be influenced by Satan.
Resist the Plausible Lie
Satan tells countless, tailor-made versions of the same lie, namely: “God is not trustworthy: You would be happier doing things your own way.” This was the lie told our first parents in Eden: “You will not surely die. God knows that if you eat the forbidden fruit, you will be enlightened, but He wants to keep you in the dark” (Gen 3:4–5, paraphrase). Simply, God is not to be trusted. The product is the same, but the packaging varies: God is indifferent to your happiness, or irrelevant to it, or incompetent, or impotent. Anything but trustworthy. This is your life. Live it as you want. Be true to yourself.
Overcome Satan, for He Has Been Overcome
When we resist Satan’s lies, he runs. This is remarkable. The dragon flees the child! How can this be? The fact is that Christ has already crushed Satan’s head by his death and resurrection. He soundly defeated the Devil’s regime through his cross and exercises divine authority over him. Yes, Satan still operates, but only because his final judgment is still pending in God’s redemptive plan. Christ bearing the Father’s wrath for our sins thwarted Satan’s design to shape prideful, self-exalting, God-belittling people out of us all. If not for this, every one of us would follow Satan like the Pied Piper over the cliff.
Back Away from the Cliff and into Christ’s Arms
People who love Jesus more than life itself resist and overcome Satan, because his reign of darkness is powered by the lie that life is too precious, too short, too pleasurable to invest in trusting and obeying Jesus. You—not God—are the measure and judge of how you should live.
Herein is the paradox of Christianity: lose your life to save it. Give it to Jesus in order to keep it eternally. Step away from the cliff and into Christ’s arms, or walk away from Christ towards “freedom” and you’ll find such “freedom” ends abruptly on the rocks below.
Remember James’ negative list of people who are prey for Satan? Here’s its inverse:
Harmonious and kind
Prayerful
Selfless and sincere in prayer
Loving what God loves as found in Scripture
Encouraging towards fellow believers
Humbly dependent on others and the power of Christ
May we resist the devilish impulse towards distrust and Godless self-autonomy and join the ranks of those for whom freedom in Christ is life, and “freedom” from Christ a plunge to the death all for a lie.
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Heavenly Father, I recognize Satan's influence in my life, and I humbly ask for your help to resist his lies and embrace the qualities of a life that’s harmonious, prayerful, selfless, loving what you love, encouraging towards fellow believers, and humbly dependent on you. In Jesus' name, Amen. ❖
