Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. -James 4:7 NASB
My daughter has dealt with many medical issues and was diagnosed with autism at a young age. We have many conversations and prayers about her health and about living in a world that doesn’t make sense to her, or me for that matter. One day we were discussing God’s enemy, our enemy, Satan, and how negative thinking doesn’t come from God and how our enemy will use this tactic to stunt our growth in the Lord or be productive for the Lord.
During this conversation, my daughter says, “Satan is like a little kitten holding onto you with its claws and doesn’t want to let go.” I told her that Jesus says we have the authority to resist the devil and he must flee. We have to say, “No.” My daughter replied, “This plan is so crazy, it might just work.”
There may be many things we must say no to, whether falling back into discouragement,
hopelessness, pride, temptation, wrong desires, doubt, fear, and so on. We don’t submit to
those things; we turn to the Lord and seek His will in every situation and say no to anything
contrary to His word. When we say no, it may not always be easy or the popular thing to do but we can be assured the enemy will flee and we can draw close to the Lord and He will draw close to us.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth and instructions that point us to You and Your ways. May we speak with the authority You have given us to resist Satan and to succeed in Your strength even when things don’t appear to be changing, You are able, may we believe You and give You the glory. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
This devotion by author, Terrie Miles, is exclusively and solely shared with permission to New Beginnings Church. Any unauthorized printed reproduction, sharing, or use of this material is prohibited.
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