The spiritual essence of human life is determined by the choice between two persons who demand our loyalty. One is God and the other is his antagonist, the Devil. The followers of Christ have already made their choice by choosing God and shunning the Devil. However, the Devil will not leave them so easily. He hangs around.
Apostle James advises, “humble yourselves before God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). To live away from the sphere
of the Devil’s influence we must humble before God and resist the devil.
Prophet Micah who lived in eighth century B. C., advised the
people to “walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). We need to humble before God
because he never helps those who are proud as James says: “God opposes the
proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, ESV). Those who humble
themselves before God must keep resisting the Devil to live in allegiance to
God.
The Devil is busy. He keeps tempting God’s people, but he
gives up those who do not yield. He is very economical in his efforts. He
leaves those who resist him to go after easy targets without wasting his time
on the strong-willed. He tempted Jesus in the wilderness and when Jesus did not
surrender to his offers “then the devil went away, and angels came and took
care of Jesus” (Matthew 4:11, NLT).
Each time we give in to the temptations that the Devil
brings up, we are giving him more space to govern our lives. So, it is important
to keep resisting. This is the spiritual warfare that are we are in on this
side of the eternity—keep resisting the Devil to cling on to God.