RESISTANCE

Resistance, now that’s a word we don’t like.  But it is a part of life.  The natural tendency is for this world to fall apart and move from order to disorder.  In order for us not to fall apart with it, we must learn how to resist those things that are bad for us and draw near to what is good for us. For example, we resist the urge to eat fast food all day long every day and draw near to a healthier diet, we resist going into debt and draw near to saving, we resist colds by drawing near to vitamin c and washing our hands, we resist certain people in life that are not good for us and draw near to those who encourage us.  Resistance.  That’s one of the keys to healthy lifestyle, stable mind, and even temperament.  But resistance hurts, and takes effort.  There are two truths about resistance when applied to the human body; one, it hurts and two, the more resistance we apply the stronger we get.

Why is it that all the muscle men at the gym are so strong?  They apply more resistance to their workout which in return tears down the muscles more, causing them pain, but the result (companied by the proper diet) is an explosion of muscle growth.  It just is what it is.  To become stronger I must add more resistance at the gym which means a more exhausting workout.

That’s life; resistance makes us stronger in all areas.  But in most areas, when we resist something bad, we must draw near to something good in order not to fill the void with something else equally as detrimental to you.

Scripture shows us that we to must take this principle of resisting what is bad for us and drawing near to what is good, and apply it to our relationship with Jesus.

James 4:7-8 says, “Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands you sinner and purify your heart you double minded.”

To resist the devil is to draw near to God.  What does that look like, how is it done? 

Prayer.  When we pray, we are drawing near to God and turning our backs on Satan.

 Rejoice Always.  I find it hard in my life to fall to temptation when I am rejoicing in God and singing to him. 

Mentally and verbally tell Satan no.  Sometimes we are so encompassed by our struggle or temptation that we just need to yell no.  We make a stand and actively fight off Satan.  We push away from him, and immediately afterwards turn to God and say, “Yes, Jesus I want you.”

Keep your guard. We need to keep our eyes peeled for those areas in life were we have been ambushed by the enemy and do preventative measures to resist him.  For example, if you know that turning on the television at 11:00pm triggers you to stumble, then don’t do it, go read a book or go to bed.  We keep our guard up when we are actively looking for where we may get ambushed.

Resistance is a tough thing to do.  But when we draw near to God, we will resist the devil. Today, right now, where you are, practice it.  Rejoice in the Lord right now, be ready to say no and scream it if you have to, and mark the areas that you need to guard yourself.  And as you draw closer to God, He will draw closer to you.