TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016.
RESISTANCE
Stand one’s ground; hold one’s own; make a stand; stand up against.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him standing firm in your faith. I Peter 5:8-9
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:7-8
The term RESISTANCE MOVEMENT has become well known in the last 50 or so years. It describes situations in which oppressed people rise up against their oppressors. Resistance fighters take the stance, I am not going to stand idly by and allow this evil to continue. They choose to resist the wrongs whether they live or die. They stand for the principles that they believe.
Resistance through the power of prayer is the Biblical approach to confronting and overcoming the devil and evil influences in our lives. Both Peter and James, in the verses we have put above, make it clear we are to actively resist evil by drawing near to God in prayer and standing firm in our faith.
On the surface one might think resistance may appear to be passive. But in practice in everyday life it is anything but passive. Resistance requires action. What would you do if a weight pushed against you attempting to push you off a position that is rightfully yours? Would you resist? Most people would. You would lean against the weight and press or push back. The pressure you exert would need to be equal or greater than the pressure exerted against you. It requires strength.
Resistance against attacks on our faith requires strength as well. When evil starts to pressure us we need to push back, standing firm in our faith and Biblical convictions. Resistance is first and foremost a firm decision to join the struggle against evil through prayer. It is always easier to choose to ignore the pressure and turn away, backing off and retreating, however Our Lord has called us as believers to resist evil. This will take courage, strength, patience, and perseverance.
To resist the devil we must be prepared. We must strengthen our faith with the knowledge of God’s Word. Satan will do all he can to drag us out of fellowship with Jesus. We must prepare for temptation by deciding how we will act before we are faced with Satan’s temptations. The Bible sets clear standards of right or wrong. Anything that violates the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20 is wrong and must be resisted.
Peter and James (verses above) point to two key words at the heart of our ability to resist the devil. The first word is SUBMISSION. God is saying to us, you can’t on your own defeat the devil but with Me you can. The apostle Paul took this position when he said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” When we are willing to submit to God’s will we develop a closer relationship with our Lord and Jesus Christ will give us strength to resist the devil.
The second key word is FAITH. Simply said, faith is saying to God I believe You will. We grow in faith by exercising it, by trusting God in situations after situations that we face in life.
It is impossible for one to resist the devil for very long if you do not believe that Christ through you can and will defeat the devil. You can remain firm in your faith only when you completely submit to God in all areas of your life.
Our memory verse for this week is found in Matthew 12:35.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
I know in my own strength I cannot resist the devil so I ask You to give me insight to recognize evil and the strength to resist the devil’s evil temptations. Help me to submit to Your will in my life and draw closer to You in my times of weakness.
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