January 9 “Submit, Resist, Victory…” James 4:7
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
Many years ago, in my youthful days of adventure and rowdiness, I stepped on a broken bottle and the glass pierced my bare foot and a large piece of the glass broke off, in my foot. I hobbled home and presented the issue to my mother, and she immediately transported me to the ER at Wayne Memorial Hospital. WOW! I was privileged to encounter the most irritating and most unpleasant nurse that was to clean the wound before the doctor entered the picture. She began the “torture” process, with little regard for my tears or my cries of pain. I was gripping the sides of the bed, and I was calling on Jesus, for relief. As this heavy-handed Minion of Suffering continued to probe the wound, I thought that I was going to be sick. Praise God, the doctor arrived, extracted the piece of glass, rinsed the wound site, and declared that I was “Glass-Free!” Thank the Lord, I was prepared to get out of this place and begin my healing process! Amazingly, I had forgotten this traumatic event, until a few years ago, when I was going through a dark and challenging patch of difficulties, and God brought this event back to my memory, as a teaching moment! Just as the doctor had used antiseptics and alcohol to cleanse the wound and to extract the glass, Jesus wants to cleanse us with His sponge of healing truth, and His sustaining mercies! Left to my own devices, and my own self-centered will, I will create some ugly and self-destructive issues, and just like the glass puncture, if left untreated, would turn into an ugly, festering, and destructive wound! Praise God! He has provided an opportunity for us to be cleansed, healed and to be stronger through the experience! When Satan challenges you, and he will, follow the pattern of victory that James highlights for us, “SUBMIT TO GOD, RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU!!!” I am committed to turning to Jesus and walking with Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to direct my paths and light my way, and, all the while, declaring “NOT TODAY SATAN, NOT TODAY! Stay Strong, Stay Focused… THE BEST IS YET TO BE!