James 4:6, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Seemingly right after James discusses our adulterous hearts who long for satisfaction and pleasure from this world he says that God gives more grace. This small statement is mind-blowing!! God gives grace upon grace continually HOWEVER He resists the proud. God’s word is consistent in it’s message regarding how God feels and His displeasure of the “the proud”. The book of Proverbs alone has plenty to say about God’s feelings of a prideful spirit. Why? Because a prideful heart can’t openly confess sin or bow in humility and admit they need a Savior. The humble one receives God’s honor, His grace, and will have God as their protector. THEREFORE, (because of this truth), we should:
- Submit to God (which only a humble hearted person can do.) Lay aside the rule of our own hearts and adopt God’s rule as authority.
- Resist the devil. This is a fight; God’s word is clear that this is a spiritual fight that we are engaged in every day. Eph 6:11 states our job-to put on the WHOLE armor of God…to send a warrior out to battle without full equipment would be criminal yet we do it all the time. It’s our job to put it on, all of it, daily. End of story. If we choose not to do that our behavior says a lot about our understanding of God’s word, the devil, and our weakness. Do not ENTERTAIN any portion of his temptations, ever. Those begin in the mind but Jesus said that we will always be given a way out of temptation AND we have the POWER of the Holy Spirit living inside us!! But we have to employ that option.
- And he WILL flee from you. This is a statement. Do A and B will happen. If we are submitting to God and putting on that armor and resisting in a fight like fashion then the devil WILL flee. Our battle has been won. If I look back at all the times I’ve given into sin and temptation it’s because I’ve failed to do one of the above.
BUT, the key is to focus on the humble heart and all that’s provided me if I just step off the first place riser and take my place at the foot of Jesus.