Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Tuesday, January 26, 2016
This Week’s Devotional Focus is, “Freedom From Sin.”
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:7).
Submission is a foreign principle to most people. We have been poked and prodded so much through injustice, inequality, disenfranchisement, etc., and have had to fight for our rights for so long, some of us cannot even fathom the concept. And worse, there are many who are just naturally proud. Yet, this pride and fight have become impediments to spiritual growth. Human beings naturally believe that we know so much more than we actually do. We often believe we have more control of our lives than we do. This is why so many believe they can stop drinking whenever they want to and quickly realize that the habit is stronger than their will to quit without intervention. This is why some people believe they can have just one more secret liaison with that person other than their spouse, only to realize that there are invisible handcuffs and leg irons restricting their ability to return home to the ones they vowed to love and cherish ‘til death.
The blessing of submission in the context of today’s devotional thought, is the One to whom we have the privilege to submit. As we said earlier this week, Jesus overcame the devil on his own turf, not to mention that there was a heavenly war that the devil lost too. We also mentioned that the Lord stands ready to give us new hearts and right spirits. Therefore, when we submit ourselves to the Lord in humility, we are consenting for Him to pervade all areas of our lives and thoughts. We are consenting to yield our proud, self-deceptive thoughts of being in control, to the One who has already conquered the devil in every way. It is when we surrender to Jesus that we receive the infusion of the Spirit into our lives, who then gives us the power to resist the devil. With the Spirit in control of our lives, we are armored from head-to-toe to resist the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:13-17).
So the key to our victory is surrendering our thoughts, will, actions, and intentions to Jesus who has defeated the devil. It is in this submission that we may have His victory applied to and superimposed upon our lives for spiritual insulation until Jesus returns.
