Satan has a burning desire to play merry hell with your heart and with your mind. Make no mistake, he is in the business of drawing you away from God, away from following Jesus. So how do you deal with that?

Perhaps you believe that there is indeed a personal force of evil in this world – the devil, Satan, the father of lies – or, perhaps you don’t. For my money, it’s as clear as day that Jesus believed in the existence of Satan, which is more than good enough for me.

And look around. His grubby fingerprints are all over the evil being perpetrated in this world. And he’s on a mission to draw you away from taking up your cross and following Jesus, towards an eternity in hell with him and all his demons.

If you’ve ever wrestled with him, you’ll have discovered that he’s a wily old soul, capable of deceptions that you and I never dreamed of. So how do you avoid his snare, if fighting him seems useless?

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

The answer is first and foremost submitting to God; praying, going to Him with a desire in your heart to honour Him, receiving instruction, admonishment, encouragement, truth as you dive deep in His Word.  Then … then you’ll have all that it takes to resist the devil. Then he will flee from you. As Billy Graham once put it: “Most of all, let the Word of God fill you and renew your mind every day. When our minds are on Christ, Satan has little room to manoeuvre.”

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.