you unconditionally, and hold you accountable. Then you can do
the same for them.
Whenever someone confides to me, “I’ve never told this to
anyone until now,” I get excited for that person because I know
they are about to experience great relief and liberation. The
pressure valve is going to be released, and for the first time they
are going to see a glimmer of hope for their future. It always
happens when we do what God tells us to do by admitting our
struggles to a godly friend.
Let me ask you a tough question: What are you pretending
isn’t a problem in your life? What are you afraid to talk about?
You’re not going to solve it on your own. Yes, it is humbling to
admit our weaknesses to others, but lack of humility is the very
thing that is keeping you from getting better. The Bible says,
“God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.
So humble yourselves before God.”^14
Resist the Devil. After we have humbled ourselves and
submitted to God, we are then told to defy the Devil. The rest of
James 4:7 says, “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.”We
don’t passively resign ourselves to his attacks. We are to fight back.
The New Testament often describes the Christian life as a
spiritual battle against evil forces, using war terms such as fight,
conquer, strive, and overcome. Christians are often compared to
soldiers serving in enemy territory.
How can we resist the Devil? Paul tells us, “Put on salvation as
your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God.”^15 The first step is to accept God’s salvation. You won’t be
able to say no to the Devil unless you’ve said yes to Christ.
Without Christ we are defenseless against the Devil, but with “the
helmet of salvation” our minds are protected by God. Remember
this: If you are a believer, Satan cannot force you to do anything.
He can only suggest.
Second, you must use the Word of God as your weapon
against Satan. Jesus modeled this when he was tempted in the
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