Some people think living for God is boring, but I enjoy my Christianity. … When I meet people who (think that) … they just don’t know the God I know. They may be saved, but they just haven’t gotten to know Jesus enough to see how good He really is. They’re usually still holding on to old ways of doing things instead of letting their “new creature” develop and grow in God’s goodness.
Staying on the fence is miserable, but living for God is not. I tell people, “When you understand the God I know, then you’ll understand the joy I have.” It’s just that simple. People ask me, “Do you get sad?” I say, “I tried sad. I didn’t like it. … I’ve realized something: the Word of God can work! All it takes is faith in God and patience to resist the devil.
I’m no different than you. The devil tries to throw doubting thoughts and problems my way too, but I’ve made up my mind that I’m not going to assist him. I’m going to resist him (James 4:7)! He may fight me, but I will walk on him!
I refuse to allow myself to dwell on what he has to say about the situations that come up. I resist him by shifting my thinking to the Word. When I’m being attacked, I ask myself, “What does God’s Word say?”
God never told us to fight the devil with our own strength. He gave us victory over all the works of the enemy when He sent Jesus to the cross. So, we don’t have to fight an enemy that has already been defeated. We just have to walk in our victory by continually enforcing Satan’s defeat.
It’s not time to fight the devil: it’s time to walk on him! You see, the devil is under our feet! We don’t have to fight, beg or plead for him to go. Instead we can keep our self-respect and just do what James 4:7-8 (KJV) says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” ”
The good news is that, although the Devil is described “like” a “roaring lion,” in reality he has no actual authority over believers. He is not really a lion, but roars “like” a lion would to bluff his victims into fear and intimidation. Satan is a liar and deceiver and uses deception as his weapon to gain advantage over those who are ignorant of the limitations of his power.
When Jesus gave his life on the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world, He also redeemed us from Satan’s power and dominion over us. “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15). “…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Praise God! Satan is already a defeated enemy! His legal authority was neutralized by the finished work of Christ on the cross.
Never Fight An Enemy That Is Already Defeated!
