Focal Passage: James 4:6-17
Sometimes asking for help is one the hardest things we have to do. Admitting that we can’t handle something on our own is not easy. Admitting that we are not always strong on our own or not always capable can be a blow to our pride. This is the place, however, where submission to God begins.
Being able to confess our weakness and turn to God is humility. Humility opens the door for God to help us overcome the devil and resist temptation.
Satan is real, and he has a real agenda – to destroy us. Submission is the only way to victory.
God’s power is the only way we can resist the devil. Believers in Christ are called to live in this posture of humility. And as we seek to live lives of submission, we must show grace to others doing the same.
James warns us that judging another brother or sister is to put ourselves in the place of God. There is only one Judge … and we are not Him!
Submission to God also means we remember how finite we are. In our mundane day-to-day activities, God is still the one who oversees the outcome of our lives.
Therefore, we seek God’s guidance and remember to thank him, lest we become arrogant.
Learning to consider God’s sovereignty in every area of our lives is part of submission and humility.
We have a very real enemy who opposes our obedience and love for God. Knowing this, we act on the truth that we know from God’s Word. To not do so is willingly giving in to the devil’s schemes.
There is a day coming in which the Satan’s sway will be no more and our God will overturn every evil thing. While we await that day, however, we must continually come to God for help in overcoming the devil and his attempts to keep us from holiness.
By submitting to God, we rest in the eternal victory Christ secured for us by his life, death and resurrection!