DEVOTION – DAY 388

James 4:7-8 “Submit To God, Resist The Devil”

James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote to advise Christians not to fight or to quarrel amongst themselves. He observed that the possible roots behind all the strife were due to the sins of covetousness and pride (James 4:1-6). In the above verses, he reminded Christians that the devil delights in disharmony amongst Christians. In order to resist the devil, Christians need to come near to God and to submit to Him.

In the Old Testament, the priests had to cleanse their hands and feet at the bronze basin before they could carry out their ministry to God at the Tabernacle. This practice of cleansing was referred to by James as a symbol, that before anyone approaches God, they needed to be spiritually cleansed. How does one have clean hands and a pure heart so that they are acceptable to God?

The only way is to place one’s trust and faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It is His shed blood on the cross that cleanses people of their sins. It is His righteousness that they are clothed in, that allows them to draw near to, and submit to God. When they do that, the devil will flee. Instead of fighting and quarrelling with each other, there will be peace.

We know someone who had a short temper. She had little patience and because of her fiery temper, friends used to call her “little red chili.” She was not someone who was easy to get along with. Then, she became a Christian. She knew that her impatience with others and her short temper was not pleasing to God. So, she prayed to God to help her change, and be more patient. Over the years, she had many opportunities to learn to be more patient and understanding of others. Today, she is more mellow and she has not lost her temper on anyone for a long time. She admitted that when she submitted herself to the Lord and drew near to Him, the Lord helped her to overcome her temper and impatience.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times when we have fallen into sin and temptations of all kinds. Please help us to submit ourselves to you, and to resist the devil and his schemes. Please help us to be the kind of people you want us to be. We pray this in the gracious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What are some areas in your life that you need to submit to God and to draw near to him, so that you will not fall into sin and temptations?
  2. What changes will you make in your attitudes and behavior so that you can submit to God, the areas in your life you know are not pleasing to Him?
  3. In trying to change your attitudes and behaviors in the past and you were met with failure, what do you think were the problems and how do you plan to do things differently now?