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“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. “ James 4:7

When I think about this and how seemingly easy it appears to be, it’s hard to understand why I can’t manage to do this. I certainly love the visual image it creates in my mind. My bigger than life Father standing behind his small child giving her the courage and strength to resist the enemy. That deceitful, dividing foe who is always looking for whom he can destroy running in fear with his tail between his legs. So the question is- how can we submit to God daily so we can send our enemy high tailing it in the other direction? I think we can do this by PLSing God.

Pray – before your feet hit the floor in the morning. It doesn’t have to be long, just praise Him for who He is and what He’s done, ask Him for protection and ask Him to help you see what He desires for you to learn today. Then keep the conversation going, thank Him when you recognize the beauty in creation, tell Him you love Him when you feel Him tugging at your heart and tell Him your fears and desires.

Listen- be still, carve out time in your day when you can sit quietly and read His word or listen with headphones if you like to listen rather than read. Prepare your heart for God to speak through His word, through your Pastor‘s sermon, through other people. The Holy Spirit helps us interpret what God is saying in the quiet whisper. “After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (I Kings 19:12) And that’s where we find the Lord.”

Submit- we live in a ‘me-pleasing’ society. What’s in it for me? We certainly do not like the idea of submission to anyone, including God. We need to focus on the example Jesus set and desire above all to do our Heavenly Father’s will. Jesus did this even though it meant a horrible death on a cross for all of our sins. “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me.” (John 6:38)

If we do these things daily, we are submitting to God and only He can send our enemy fleeing and give us the power to resist.

“Lord, help me to submit myself to You and resist the devil. Help me to walk through each day with You looking and listening for your small still whisper.”

For His Glory

Leslie Estep
TRBC Women’s Life