Submit Yourselves

Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ~ James 4:7

Trust.  It’s all about trust.  In today’s world we are given many opportunities to submit ourselves to many different voices - our jobs, our wallets, our desires for more success, our ambitions, or even just the desire to submit to ourselves and what we may think is best for us.  Our world is geared to helping you submit to yourself and whatever those desires may look like selfish, or not.  When we submit to ourselves and our own abilities instead of God's, that's when sin and temptation tend to slowly creep into our lives ever so subtly.  All of a sudden our ambitions create a whole lot of pride; our success leads to greed; our greed leads to gluttony and on and on and on it goes before we become so selfish that we can’t seem to find the time, or effort for anyone else.  Fight the urge to put yourself first; serve others and submit your ways to God and watch the devil leave you.  We must resist the cultures’ me, me, me, self-service attitude and put others first if we truly want to find joy and happiness in life.  Humble yourself and submit your whole being, your life, your kids, your work, every part of your life to Christ and how He would have you live your life and watch the devil flee!  He must!  Be mindful of the many temptations Satan uses to entice you with.  They often come wrapped in shiny, fun, pretty little packages, but once unwrapped and opened they will have you paying dearly - so push back and resist with all your might the temptations set before you.  Call out to Christ and let Him give you the strength to resist and say NO!  Use God’s word to guard your heart, mind and spirit and memorize God’s promises so you can easily bring them to your mind when confronted with the liar and his schemes.  Remember, you must do both - resist the devil and submit to God.  You will see victory!  Be obedient and God’s grace will carry you through. ~ Amen