James 4:7: How to Remove the Devil from Your Life

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

I have a question for you this morning: Are you someone who is often tempted? I surely hope all of you reading this just answered that question "yes." The truth is that each one of us is tempted by the devil daily and even constantly. These temptations point us to evil as they promise a delight of sin that they ultimately cannot deliver. The question then is how to get ride of this temptation. How do we avoid the devil's temptation? How do we overcome?

The answer to this question is found in James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The solution to having the devil flee is to submit to God and resist the devil. We must notice from this text that "submitting to God" and "resisting the devil" are one action. These are not two seperate actions, for as we do one we carry out the other. We cannot submit to God without resisting the devil, and we cannot resist the devil without submitting to God. In other words, if you're wondering how to submit to God, you can do it by resisting the devil, and if you're wondering how to resist the devil, you can do it by submitting to God. Make sense?

Oftentimes, one of the best ways to submit to God and resist the devil is to resolve in our minds to obey God's commands. Paul encourages us in Romans 13:14 to "make no provision for the flesh." In other words, don't feed your fleshly temptations and desires. Rather, turn from them as quickly as possible and resolve in your mind to obey God's commands. Hasten and do not delay to keep God's commandments (Psalm 119:60). Throw off your sin and all that encumbers you (Hebrews 12:1). If you do any one of these things in submission to God, God promises that the devil will flee from us.

So, are you tired of fighting temptation? Try submitting to God. "Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire," (James 1:14), so stop giving into your desires and submit to God. Resist the devil by saying "no" to your fleshly desires (see Titus 2:12). Submit to God. Resist the Devil. And he will flee.