Resist!

Soldiers’ job is to resist the enemy – to prevent his advance. To do this effectively, soldiers must obey the orders of their commanding officers. They must submit their will to that of their officer. Individual soldiers do not have the proper perspective or information to devise a plan of attack. They must follow the orders of their general who has more information, better viewpoints, and a fuller perspective.

James tells us it is the same for soldiers of Christ. As soldiers, we are to resist the Devil! But James does not simply tell us to resist the Devil without giving us instructions on how. James tells us to submit to God and then resist the Devil. If we do those two things, Satan will flee from us. Why this order? The answer is fairly simple.

We must first submit our desires and will to God and in doing so we will no longer want to pursue our own desires and goals which Satan uses to tempt and deceive us. Once we submit to God, resisting the Devil because much easier. It is when we attempt to resist Satan without total submission to God that we struggle and fail because deep down we are still pursuing our own path not God’s.

Now, in the military, some generals are wise, knowledgeable, humble, and skilled in warcraft, these generals are easy to submit to because they have the trust and confidence of their soldiers. Others are foolish, stubborn, arrogant, and unskilled at war-making, it is these generals that soldiers often desire to disregard and it is under these generals that more soldiers die in action.

Soldiers in the Lord’s army have the perfect general. God is the perfect commanding officer. He will never lead us astray; never send us into battle ill-prepared; never expect more than we can give; never leave us alone; and never set us up for failure. With the perfect general, it should be easy for us to submit to God. We can have complete confidence in His motives, designs, commands, and plans. When we totally submit to God’s leadership, we will be able to successful and consistently resist the Devil. And with God standing right behind us, Satan will flee from us. James guarantees it.

Yet so many times, we publicly say God is our general but secretly make ourselves our commanding officer. We lean on our own understanding, our own desires, and trust in our own motives. It is in these times that we will fail. We attempt to take on the Devil alone and without God we will lose every battle.

Submit to God. Resist the Devil. And in so doing, Satan will flee from you. #SoldiersforChrist #TheLordisMyBanner