Tag Archives: resist the devil and he will flee

August 25, 2025 · 5:43 AM

Choosing Selflessness

I was really into basketball as I was growing up. I played it every day, watched movies about it and watched a lot of games. While everyone was trying to be like Michael Jordan, I gravitated to Magic Johnson and John Stockton. I loved how Magic saw the whole court and could pass without looking. With John Stockton, I loved how selfless he was in passing the ball to Karl Malone. To this day, John Stockton is the all time assist leader in giving up the ball so Malone could score. Stockton gave up the ball so much that Malone is third all time in scoring. In a world where ball hogs exist, these two showed what being selfless created greatness.

In John 3, while Jesus is gaining in popularity and having people follow Him, John the Baptist was losing followers. Some of those who remained with him were upset that people were leaving their ministry to follow Jesus. John explained that he was very clear about not being the Messiah. He then said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (ESV). The words used to say “I must decrease,” weren’t passive as a response to Jesus increasing. They conveyed active and intentional humbling of self so that Christ could increase. John was actively being selfless while his disciples were being driven by pride.

James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (NLT). Again we see the Bible telling us to be intentional about being humble. If you want more of Christ in your life, you’re going to have to be more selfless. You’re going to have to build up His name rather than your own. He will increase in our life as we submit to Him and actively decrease as John the Baptist said. We live in an age of self promotion, yet God’s call to us as believers has been just the opposite. Resisting the devil begins with resisting pride. When you learn to lose yourself for the sake of Christ, you will find life. Instead of being driven by pride, determine to be humble and selfless. As you decrease, Christ will increase and the devil will flee.

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May 29, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Psychological Warfare

Psychological warfare has been used for thousands of years to help win wars. If you remember the first night of Desert Storm, we used shock and awe to overwhelm the Iraqi army. It was a show of strength to win the battle of the mind. I’ve seen army’s drop pamphlets behind enemy lines to disrupt their belief of what they think the truth is. If they can get the people to believe their own government is lying, they’ll fold. I’ve also seen where they used speakers to blast messages 24 hours a day trying to get into their minds. Psychological warfare is real, and it’s intended to influence emotions, thinking, attitudes and behaviors. If those are manipulated, victory is easier.

In Isaiah 36, Jerusalem was surrounded by Assyria. They were the toughest army of the day and they were undefeated. When they showed up in full force, their psychological ware fare was to make their enemies lose heart. Not only that, they would address the people instead of just the king. They understood psychological warfare. In verse 15, their emperor was talking with Jerusalem’s leaders where all could hear. He tried to undermine King Hezekiah and their faith. He said, “And don’t let him (Hezekiah) persuade you to rely on the Lord. Don’t think that the Lord will save you and that he will stop our Assyrian army from capturing your city” (GNT). He then encouraged them to surrender. Thankfully they continued to trust the Lord and God sent the Assyrian army home.

Our enemy comes against you and I the same way. He speaks lies into our minds to get us to doubt God. He’s done it since the Garden of Eden. James 4:7 says, “So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.” The key to victory against his mind games and lies that try to get you to quit relying on the Lord begin with submitting to God. Trust that He will not fail you, abandon you or leave you to fight alone. Trust His plan and know that He will work everything out for your good. Then resist the devil’s lies. Combat them with God’s Word the way Jesus did in the desert. When we do that, he has to flee. He has to stop the attack on your life and your mind. Don’t surrender or succumb to the psychological warfare of the devil. God has given you the Helmet of Salvation and the Shield of Faith to resist.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/back-view-of-a-boy-covering-his-ear-12449967/

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

Psychological Warfare

Our enemy comes against you and I the same way. He speaks lies into our minds to get us to doubt God. He’s done it since the Garden of Eden. James 4:7 says, “So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.” The key to victory against his mind games and lies that try to get you to quit relying on the Lord begins with submitting to God. Trust that He will not fail you, abandon you or leave you to fight alone. Trust His plan and know that He will work everything out for your good. Then resist the devil’s lies. Combat them with God’s Word the way Jesus did in the desert. When we do that, he has to flee. He has to stop the attack on your life and your mind. Don’t surrender or succumb to the psychological warfare of the devil. God has given you the Helmet of Salvation and the Shield of Faith to resist.

Photo by Monstera:

Humbly Return

The importance of mentorship ne of the things I try to teach people. All of us could benefit from someone more experienced at any area of life to help us achieve growth in that area. The problem is that most of us are too proud or scared to ask someone to do it. I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing leaders in large companies. One lady was the most approachable leader I’ve met, and she is the head of the retail side of a Fortune 15 company. She told me that people ask her all the time to mentor them. She tells them to set it up with her assistant.. She would love to be a mentor, but no one takes that next step to set up the meeting.

I love the story of the Prodigal Son. After taking his share of the inheritance, he took off to see the world and make a name for himself. If he had asked his father for wisdom, the father would have explained the importance of saving up for tough times. However, the son was living for the minute and ran out money when the famine came. After working for pig slop, he decided to humble himself and return home. He knew that at the least his father would accept him back as a servant and he would have food, shelter and money. What he wasn’t expecting was the willingness of the father to do exceedingly more than he could have imagined. His father ran to him as he got close to home. When he humbled himself and repented, he was forgiven and restored.

James 4:7-8 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you” (NLT). Humility is our first step in approaching God. We must know we need Him and His help. We must be bold enough to resist the devil and his lies that would try to keep us from the Father. He’ll try to appeal to our pride and fear to keep us away. However, when we, like the Prodigal Son, head towards God, He will rush to meet us with open arms. He will forgive us, restore us and mentor us as His children. All that He has is available to us if only we would humble ourselves and seek Him.

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January 17, 2020 · 6:01 AM

Standing Your Ground

I used to love playing King of the Hill. The struggle to maintain your position while people try to knock you off balance was fun for me. You’d have to brace yourself when you saw someone coming at you. The other thing you had to be good at was deflecting them as they hit you. Using their momentum against them was always to securing your spot on the hill. Inevitably you’re knocked off the spot, and then someone else occupies what was once yours. When that happens, it’s time to go on the offensive so you can take it back. It’s the classic game of standing your ground.

As Christians, our enemy roams around like a lion trying to intimidate us so we will back down and give up ground. Sometimes he comes at us with a full on assault doing everything he can to get us to give up ground, but like Jesus, we can hold our ground during these times by using the Word of God. We are to hold up our shield of faith in God’s Word when these attacks come. We need to use the whole armor God gave us to stand up to the devil when he is trying to take ground. It also takes a strong will and determination to stand up and say, “No more! I refuse to give up this land. You cannot have it!” I believe the Holy Spirit, who is our sword, gives us the courage and the strength to stand up and fight back. We have all authority through Jesus’ name, so stand up to the devil, resist his advances and he will flee.

Here are some Bible verses on standing your ground.

1. So then, surrender to God. Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will turn and run away from you.

James (Jacob) 4:7 TPT

2. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT

3. With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.

1 Corinthians 15:58 MSG

4. Wickedness does not give security, but righteous people stand firm.

Proverbs 12:3 GNT

5. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

Ephesians 6:11 AMP

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