There is a popular, Christian colloquialism that says: Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning the Devil says, “Oh, no!” You may have seen this, or something close to it, on a mug or plaque. It’s a very popular meme* on social media. I guess it’s meant to be motivational, but every time I see it I get kind of bothered.
Why is anyone trying to impress Satan?
Hate to burst any bubbles, but even at our best—our most devout and faithful—Satan still thinks we’re easy prey.
Remember Job? What about Peter, whom he asked to sift as wheat? Satan wasn’t impressed with these great men of faith, and he isn’t impressed with us. What does Peter say to his fellow Believers later in life? He warns us all:
BE SOBER, BE VIGILANT;
BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL
WALKS ABOUT LIKE A ROARING LION,
SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR.
1 PETER 5:8, NKJV
Peter knew. He learned the hard way. Our authority against Satan is not because of our great faith in God or love for Jesus. No matter the good works we have done for the Lord, no matter how righteously we may live, it is only by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that we are saved, and therefore called children of God. And, it is only as children of the Most High that we have the right to declare the name of Jesus over every power and principality of the Enemy.
OK. That was a mouthful. But, it’s important to remember the chain of command, so to speak, when discussing spiritual matters. And, isn’t that what that silly phrase is really about, anyway? Remember, there is only One who makes demons tremble, and it isn’t us.
There is one thing we can do.
As far as I can see, there is only one place in the Word of God that speaks of Satan fleeing from us, the Believer, and that is in James 4:7. However, it’s critical we read the whole verse.
THEREFORE SUBMIT TO GOD.
RESIST THE DEVIL,
AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU.
JAMES 4:7, NKJV
Note the instructions.
STEP ONE: Submit to God.
STEP TWO: Resist the Devil.
If we’re giving into Satan’s temptation to sin in any way—fear, doubt, lust, pride, anger, etc., the Devil will not flee. We can beg God and curse the darkness as much and as loud as we please, but the Enemy will never be impressed. It is our surrender to God and His will and Word that gives us the power to resist the work of the Enemy, and sends him away with his tail between his legs. That’s what I like to see!
So, dear friends, let’s be the kind of women and men of God that when we wake-up in the morning our knees hit the floor—figuratively, if not literally—in surrender. That is the only posture that will earn us the power we desire over our great Enemy. Through that yielded life of humble submission, we will find ourselves walking in spiritual authority through Christ Jesus. And, that is His will for us.
*I did do some research on meme. A meme is a symbol or social idea that people share with each other. These days, memes are most commonly shared via the internet, however, memes have been around since before world War II. Who remembers “Kilroy was here,” with the big-nosed face peering over a wall? That was an early meme.
Written by Caroline Gregan
Used by Permission from TheSaxophonePlayersWife.com