To Encourage You

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Sometimes the Bible tells us the same thing in two different ways, i.e., the positive and the negative, in the very same verse.  Such is the case in the verse above.  There are two commands given here, but they are one in their message.  If you are obedient to the first command, you are also obedient to the second.  If you are disobedient to the first, you are also disobedient to the second.  This verse is then followed by an invitation that encompasses these two commands, namely, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).  It’s an issue of closeness, intimacy, relationship, however you want to think of it.  If we submit to God and His commands, we will also be drawing near to Him. We will be in close fellowship with Him. We will be placing ourselves in the place of wonderful protection, for in submitting to Him we will be resisting the devil and his lies.  On the other hand, if we resist God and His commands we will be drawing nearer and nearer to the devil.  We will be placing ourselves in situations in which the devil can gain footholds and strongholds in our lives (Ephesians 4:27, 2 Corinthians 10:4).  We will be submitting ourselves to his lies and those lies are designed to steal from us, kill us, and destroy us (John 10:10).  It is as we submit to God’s Truth that we will find ourselves in the Way of Life, and life, by its very nature, keeps the way of death at bay.    

But how do we do this? How do we draw near to a God that we can’t see and how do we resist the devil, who is likewise, invisible to our physical eyes?  Have you ever played the game where something is hidden somewhere in a room by someone, then as you try to find it the one who did the hiding says, “you’re getting hotter” or “colder”?  In this game you can’t really see what you’re looking for, so you must rely on someone else who knows more than you do about it.  They know the situation perfectly and by their words they are guiding you as to how you should go.  In the same way, we must rely on someone else with respect to spiritual things, which are things we can’t see with our eyes. If we are ever to draw near to things that are good for us spiritually, we need to rely on someone who can see things that are spiritual in nature.  Likewise, in keeping away from them if they are things that are harmful to us spiritually. 

Well, we need to realize that we have a God who is called “the God of seeing” (Genesis 16:13). Likewise, He is called the God of Truth (John 14:6).  It is only this One who will direct us in the Way we should go, and to “hear” Him, we must pay close attention to His Word.  As we spend time reading, reflecting on, and obeying His words, we are in the process of both drawing near to Him and resisting the devil.  Light dispels darkness. Truth dispels lies. In the same way, as we draw near to the One Who is the Light and is the Truth, the enemy of our souls with his darkness and lies must flee. 

So, are you submitting to God? Are you spending time in His Word and being guided by Him in the realm of the spiritual?  If so, you are drawing ever nearer to Him. If not, you are, at best, wandering around aimlessly.  However, it is more likely that you are resisting the God of Truth and submitting to the lies of the Father of lies that are everywhere in this world.  To whom are you submitting, and whom are you resisting? There’s only one way to really know: by listening to the God Who sees. You see, believers are those who “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), i.e., by listening to and trusting the One Who alone sees the spiritual realm and can guide us regarding it, for our physical eyes are pretty useless when it comes to spiritual things.