“God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
— James 4:6–7
Submit to God and Resist the Devil
God gives grace to the humble, and that truth changes how we face spiritual battles. The devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). But you do not have to become one of his victims. Stop fearing a defeated enemy. If you remain humble and submit to God, the devil will turn tail and run.
To submit to God means acknowledging His sovereignty. It means depending on His grace instead of your own strength.
Pride Pulls Us Away from Grace
Pride and humility are fundamentally different. Like oil and water, they cannot mix. Good receivers receive from God by faith. Pride pulls your focus toward your own achievements and away from His grace.
Often, we do not realize how subtly pride works in our lives. It convinces us that our efforts are enough. But when we humble ourselves and submit to God, we remember that God gives grace to the humble and that He is our source and provider.
Pride is subtle. It tempts us to credit ourselves for our success and to trust in our own resources for security.
Humility Trusts God’s Timing
Humility requires strength and perspective. It is not about thinking less of yourself. It is about thinking of yourself less often. Do not diminish your worth just because you did not receive that promotion.
Instead, lift your head and look for the blessings ahead. To trust God is to rest in His timing. If we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, He will lift us up at the right time (1 Peter 5:6).
Do not allow life’s challenges to weigh you down. When you trust that God is in control, you can stand with confidence. The Creator of the universe is actively working for your good.
A Prayer for Humility and Grace
As you come to this prayer, first let your heart rest in the kindness of God. Then, remember that you do not have to carry every burden, prove your strength, or hide the places where pride has been quietly working. Instead, bring it all to the Father with honesty and trust, because He welcomes a humble heart and, in His grace, helps you take every step of surrender.
Father, thank You for Your love, patience, and grace. As I come before You, help me surrender the places where I have relied on my own strength. Then, teach me to trust Your timing, rest in Your care, and walk humbly with You. Therefore, in every season, lift me up in the right time and keep my heart close to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”(Matthew 5:5). Too often, we interpret the meaning of the word meek as being weak; in fact according to Webster;s dictionary Meekness is essentially an attitude or quality of heart whereby a person is willing to accept and submit without resistance to the will and desire of someone else. In the case of Christians, this is God. Additionally, the admonishment to resist the devil is often a challenge to the carnal man. Why? Oftentimes, during the act of our sin, our flesh desires the sin. The Apostle Paul had this to say; “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me”(Romans 7:14-21).
Yes, Johnny. When it comes to sin, it seems that we become discombobulated. We do the opposite of what we desire, However, when we submit to God, He gives us grace (strength, endurance, fortitude) to do the will of God with ease. Thanks for the enlightenment.
Part 2-For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Keep in mind, the writer is refering to (2) two different spirits. The inward-man, which is our human spirit and the Holy Spirit, who lives in us. Also, there is always hope: “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”(Romans 8:24-28).