Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Satan is not a foe to be taken lightly. He is powerful and evil. He is busy in the world today, stirring up bloodshed, murder and civil strife, deceiving people into breaking down traditional moral standards, spreading sickness and sorrow; and so on.
But the exciting reality is that God has called his people to live a life of victory over the devil. He has restored to us through Christ the mastery that he always intended us to have.
- There is never any place for cringing and yielding before the devil.
- When we resist him, he will flee from us! (James 4:7).
- When we step forward, we tread him under our feet (Psalm 91:13; Luke 10:19).
- When we are tempted, we overcome him with the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11).
- When he attacks, we defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit and protect ourselves with the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:17).
And when he tries to swamp us with clouds of doubt and fear, we look down from far above the clouds, where we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! (Ephesians 2:6).
To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.