Read James 4

Key Verse: James 4:7, 8a “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Years ago the American comedian Flip Wilson used to get lots of laughs when he would look innocently into the camera and explain some fictional bad behaviour by saying, “The devil made me do it!” It was funny, but that’s all. In the real world, the devil can’t make us do anything.

Satan is a creature Like you and me, and all creation, he is subject to the creative activity of a Creator. The Creator. The devil can’t create; he can only distort and destroy. What’s more, unlike God, the devil is not all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful. Only God knows everything. Only God is everywhere . Only God has no limits on power (although He does have the power of self-limitation). That means the devil has unanswered questions (he can’t “read” God’s mind — nor can he read ours). As a creature he can be in only one place at one time (although he has thousands of fallen angels covering mankind). And he’s powerless with you if you choose to resist him. Even his power to tempt mankind has been overrated — James tells us that temptation is a function of our “own evil desire” (1:14).

Satan’s war is bigger than his bite. He’s not even a legitimate lion — he is “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”. His strength lies in counterfeit. There’s only one true Lion; the “Lion of Judah”, Jesus Christ, our Lord our Saviour.

When Satan encounters resistance from someone who has the indwelling Lion of Judah, he turns tail and flees! There are a lot of unprotected souls out there to harass and bully. And bullies are cowards — they don’t waste any time around those in whom real power and integrity dwell.

So don’t see yourself as a victim of Satan. If anything, he should be victimized by us. We’re not victims. in Christ we’re victors!