Resist the Devil

Therefore submit 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)

I remember as far back as a week ago, when a teacher was inquiring about the above text. It is often understood that the stronger our faith becomes, the stronger Satan's attempts will be to pull us away from God. The above text, however, seems to contradict this idea. It interested me, and the following is my meditation on it.

Satan is dangerous. We all know that. However, can we say with the apostle Paul that “we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11)? We should be able to. Here are some of them:

•     He is the father of lies (Genesis 3, John 8:44)
•     He blinds the minds of unbelievers to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4)
•     He and his angels disguise themselves as righteous (Matthew 7:15, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
•     He does signs and wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
•     He tempts people to sin (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 22:3-6, 2 Corinthians 11:3)     
•   He takes the Word of God out of people’s hearts (Mark 4:15, 1 Thessalonians 3:5)
•     He causes sickness and disease (Luke 13:16, Acts 10:38)
•     He accuses Christians before God (Revelation 12:10)
•     He is a murderer (John 8:44, 1 John 3:12)
•     He fights and hinders the plans of God’s servants (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18)

These are just some of the ‘devices’ of Satan. He is our great adversary, roaring around like a lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

By what means do we overcome this enemy of ours? We know we can, because James 4:7 says if we resist him he will flee. We must fight against him. Resisting him calls for effort. We must fight back, not only to defend the spiritual ground we have gained, but to go on the offensive and to take new territory for Christ, from Satan. I do not say this presumptuously, but realise that we must do so with the power of the One who gave us the command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…  and I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:19-20). Verse 8 alludes to this, saying we must draw near to God.

Luke 18:7 says “Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him?” Similarly, Luke 21:36 tells us to “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Finally 1 Peter 4:7 warns us that “the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”

We must use prayer as our weapon against Satan. We need to use prayer as a thrust against Satan’s devices. We must “draw near to God.” We must petition Him who is “stronger than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4) to help us in this battle, and then “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come…shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).

God can and has defeated Satan already. That is why he will flee when we resist him in God’s name. He cannot stand up to someone stronger than himself.

However, this does not mean that we are exempt from his attacks, and that we now have nothing to be afraid of. And it certainly does not mean that the stronger your faith the less Satan will attack you. Satan still walks about like a roaring lion. He will be defeated temporarily whenever we call on God’s name, but he will continue to attack us. He will return with another temptation very quickly. So continue to put your trust in God, continue to pray, and continue to look forward to that great day when Satan will be defeated forever.

1 Thessalonians 5: 17-18, 23: “Pray without ceasing… for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you… Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”