James 4:7-8a, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
Do you have something that is causing you anxiety? You know those thoughts of thinking you will never make it or wondering how can any good come out of this situation? Or maybe your boss has overlooked your accomplishments in an email that was sent to the group. That is when the devil wants to defeat you. He will use trial and error until he finds what will succeed in giving you doubts, fears, frustrations, and feelings of failure. Don’t give him a seat at your table. John 14:26 is truth to remember that you have the Holy Spirit advocating for you so as you draw near to God with your concerns which says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” I picture God saying to me, “Come here. Sit over here beside me. Come closer. I have words of comfort, reassurance, and strength to tell you, Linda. Tell me everything. I have already gone before you (Deuteronomy 31:8), and no weapon formed against you shall succeed (Isaiah 54:17). Dear child (Romans 8:16), your story is not over yet. Linda, I have words of truth. Live on those words, say them out loud, and those words will make the enemy flee away just as it did when I quoted from the Bible to him. You can read about it in Matthew 4:1-11.”
A cross-reference to James 4:7 is 1 Peter 5:7-8, “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Both passages in the preceding verse in each section state being first, humble before God. There is that teaching again on the importance of humility. Then again in James 4:10 it declares, “Humbles yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
The best way to fight against feelings of nervousness, fearfulness, and angst is to memorize Scripture. That is the weapon to have handy and available to put one in a position of being entirely dependent and humbly submitting oneself to God’s Word and will for your life with God’s promises. For example, Isaiah 43:1 says God knows your name. God knows you.
- ESV says “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
- NIV says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
So how do we withstand and oppose fearful thoughts and lies in our minds? By saying “NO” and standing firm against the lies of temptations in our mind. Put in place James 4:7-8a, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Say out loud words of truth from God’s Word. That is your weapon of choice in fighting actively to cause the enemy to flee from you in the trial-and-error tactics of getting you to fall into sin. The answer is “NO! Not today! Jesus died for me and rose again, and I will follow Him as it says in Matthew 4:10b, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
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