Recently, at the retreat I've been on, we did an exercise to show us how we may be resisting God. It was an eye-opener. Incredibly, God had just shown me in the weeks leading up to that retreat that I had been resisting Him in the area of my finances through the years. Because of stealing pennies from my Daddy when I was a child, I felt like I had the heart of a thief. (Crazy, huh?) And because of that, I resisted money when it came to me--I didn't trust myself with money. So I would give it away or spend it as fast as it came to me. I was resisting God's provision. But just knowing that truth completely set me free! So when our retreat leaders did this exercise, I knew they were showing us some truth--truth I needed to examine even further.
So...I began a study on resisting. Everyone resists--people, God, and Satan. And the opposite of resisting is submission. Submission is so important--and yet we resist submission!! God has told us to submit to Him and resist the devil and he will flee from us. James 4:7. It starts with submission to God. But then we have to push back on Satan. Ephesians 6:13. Interestingly, I didn't find where God is resisting Satan on earth right now. He has in the past, Jesus did while he was on earth (also for our example), and He will again. But God has told US to resist Satan and has given us the authority to do so!
God has also told us to submit to one another. Ephesians 5:21. So if we're resisting one another, we're not submitting to God. Let me say that another way....IF WE'RE NOT SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER, WE'RE RESISTING GOD! I don't know about you, but as I examined my heart, I didn't have to go far to find where I was resisting God by not submitting to others. We're also told not to resist the authorities or judgment will come down on us. Romans 13:2.
Satan opposes us. His very name is Accuser. I found in the Greek that "resist" is synonymous to "oppose and accuse." He comes before God in heaven and accuses us. Revelation 12:10. And he accuses us in our thoughts, our minds--which is why we have to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. II Corinthians 10:5.
God will resist us if we're proud. James 4:6. Many times, we think we're fighting Satan when it's God we're fighting. He will oppose us and resist us to bring us back into submission to Him. Pride is one of the things God hates most. He loves humility and a heart which is willing to serve. He loves submission. I love what our retreat leaders said, "There's no such thing as saying, 'No, Lord.'" It's an oxymoron. The very name Lord suggests Master, King....someone we must serve. So we're not making Him Lord of our lives if we tell Him "no."
It's an interesting study...Resisting. God doesn't like it. And things will flow much better in our lives and in our churches if we don't do it.
So...I began a study on resisting. Everyone resists--people, God, and Satan. And the opposite of resisting is submission. Submission is so important--and yet we resist submission!! God has told us to submit to Him and resist the devil and he will flee from us. James 4:7. It starts with submission to God. But then we have to push back on Satan. Ephesians 6:13. Interestingly, I didn't find where God is resisting Satan on earth right now. He has in the past, Jesus did while he was on earth (also for our example), and He will again. But God has told US to resist Satan and has given us the authority to do so!
God has also told us to submit to one another. Ephesians 5:21. So if we're resisting one another, we're not submitting to God. Let me say that another way....IF WE'RE NOT SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER, WE'RE RESISTING GOD! I don't know about you, but as I examined my heart, I didn't have to go far to find where I was resisting God by not submitting to others. We're also told not to resist the authorities or judgment will come down on us. Romans 13:2.
Satan opposes us. His very name is Accuser. I found in the Greek that "resist" is synonymous to "oppose and accuse." He comes before God in heaven and accuses us. Revelation 12:10. And he accuses us in our thoughts, our minds--which is why we have to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. II Corinthians 10:5.
God will resist us if we're proud. James 4:6. Many times, we think we're fighting Satan when it's God we're fighting. He will oppose us and resist us to bring us back into submission to Him. Pride is one of the things God hates most. He loves humility and a heart which is willing to serve. He loves submission. I love what our retreat leaders said, "There's no such thing as saying, 'No, Lord.'" It's an oxymoron. The very name Lord suggests Master, King....someone we must serve. So we're not making Him Lord of our lives if we tell Him "no."
It's an interesting study...Resisting. God doesn't like it. And things will flow much better in our lives and in our churches if we don't do it.
re·sist
rəˈzist/
verb
gerund or present participle: resisting
- withstand the action or effect of."antibodies help us to resist infection"
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