How often to we read James 4:7 and jump immediately in our minds to the second half of the injunction? Our own pride in our abilities latches on to the idea that if we just resist the devil hard enough it’s a done deal – resist him and he’ll flee, right? Wrong.

The second half of the verse is the second half for a reason. In order to be able to resist the devil we must first submit ourselves to God. Way back in the Garden of Eden the devil was telling mankind that they could ‘do it on their own’, that if they just aspired, tried, reached out it would all come to them. The Bible makes it clear that on our own strength we can do nothing of value, nothing truly good.

This is why it is essential to first submit ourselves to God. This is a personal thing – no-one can do it for you, but this is the first and vital step. We have no authority over the devil, but God does. Once we submit ourselves to God it is His authority by which we resist the devil and His authority that forces the devil to flee as we resist.

So, let’s get it the right way around. Rather than saying to ourselves ‘I must resist, I must resist’, concentrating on the problem, let’s start with ‘Lord, I submit to You’ and by His grace we can and will resist the devil until he flees from the God who promises to live within us with His power and authority.