Humble Yourselves
"What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit of God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, 'God opposes the proud but favors the humble.' So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:5-7 NLT
God is a jealous God - Exodus 34:14. He has given us the Holy Spirit to live lives pleasing to Him, leading us into all truth - John 14:17. Since our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we do not belong to ourselves as God has bought us with the high price of His Son's life - we are to honor God with our bodies and that includes our mind's desires- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. There cannot be a union between God's temple and idols, and we are the temple of the living God; thus, when we idolize and fixate on the things of the world and sin to obtain them, the Holy Spirit within us is envious desiring our pure devotion to be for Jesus Christ.
Right now, are you choosing to live in a way that makes the Holy Spirit envious?
As Christians, we are no longer slaves to sin "for when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin" - Romans 6:7 NLT. God has given us power in the Holy Spirit to not let sin control the way that we live, to not give in to sinful desires, and to not let any part of our body become an instrument of evil to serve sin; we have the ability to use our whole body as instruments to do what is right for the glory of God, "living under the freedom of God's grace" found in a relationship with Jesus Christ, His Son - Romans 6:12-14.
God, truly, gives us grace to stand strong against evil desires from without and from within.
God is not for those who are prideful, desiring His power; He is for those who are humble, submitted unto Him and His power. So, humble yourselves.
It's wise for us to submit unto God's Sovereignty, dependent upon Him and His power. He, in turn, gives us the ability to make the conscious decision to say "no" to the devil, resisting his temptations.
Today, everyone is facing a different season in their spiritual walk with God and the temptations or spiritual warfare varies in severity and intensity. Satan is subtle and also overt in his strategy to undermine Christians. More and more so Satan is seeking to persuade Christians to agree with his evil ways, encouraging steps of compromise away from a pure devotion to Jesus Christ with hardened hearts to the voice of the Lord. Therefore, it is important to trust the truth in God's word when Satan is attacking, "Resist Satan's temptations and he will leave you alone." You hold God's power when you are resisting Satan, so much so, he wants to flee from you in fear of God.
Know this - God's power will always undermine Satan's strategies, and His power is found in truth and love.
Prayer: Abba, forgive me for when I make the Holy Spirit envious. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can resist Satan's strategies. In Jesus' name, Amen.
