‘But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
James 4:6-7 NKJV
PALM SUNDAY
Resistance is Not Futile
I am a “Trekkie” and particularly fond of “Star Trek: Next Generation. In this series, the captain and the crew are pursued by the Borg species whose only mission is to acquire knowledge by assimilating the various species they encounter and adding them to their general body of beings. They are relentless in their pursuit and warn those who they encounter that they will be assimilated as “resistance was futile.”
The book of James offers weapons against the adversary. Like the Borg, the devil relentlessly pursues destruction of our relationship with God; uses every avenue to distract us from the relationship. We must fight valiantly.
Scripture identifies three weapons against the devil: humility, submission, and resistance. We must humble ourselves to God, submit to God’s direction, and resist the devil with the knowledge of the Scriptures. In Matthew 4:1-11, when at his weakest and tempted by the devil, Jesus used the scriptures and the first two tools to resist the devil. The devil fled.
But the scriptures give us the ultimate payoff. If we utilize humility, submission to God and resistance, the devil will flee from us. Think it through the next time you are challenged or tempted by the devil. Are you using the tools God has supplied to defeat your adversary?
By humbling yourself and submitting to God, you will be able to resist the wiles of the devil and watch the devil run for the hills.
Resistance is not futile!
Brother Wade Duggar
Steward Emeritus
Prayer: Almighty God, help us to resist the devil! Amen.
Lent 2024
We invite you to join us in reflection, meditation and prayer for a season of renewal, repentance and rejoicing from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
Each day is a reflection representing the thoughts and aspirations of the members and friends of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church expressing what the season of Lent means to them. Their wide range of perspectives describe how this time of renewal, repentance and rejoicing has been and will be used to focus on Jesus’ life, crucifixion and resurrection.
Read along with us each day or download the book to read and write along with us offline.