daily devotional

You are a walking talking contradiction to yourself. You are complex and confusing. Oh come on and admit it you’re a strong independent woman who says “I can do this on my own” – yet you’re wondering why no one is helping you. You want one thing – you say another thing – and yet you do something totally different than both of those things. Girl you are complicated.

And God totally gets you.

He gets you. He knows your thoughts before you think them. He knows exactly what brings you happiness and he knows what trips you up. He knows the number of hairs on your head. And he is working hard for you. He is working to bring out the best in you. Working to grow you and strengthen you to walk in your full potential. While you may have forgotten who you were created to be, God knows exactly who he created you to be and HE IS NOT GIVING UP ON YOU. He is relentlessly pursuing you all the days of your life pulling strings, rearranging plans, creating roadblocks to slow you down so you don’t miss it and planning setups to launch you to new levels of living. You are not on your own. No matter how alone you may feel. Got gets you and he is with you.

Besides God there is likely only one other who gets you. It’s not your husband, your mama, your bestie or even you. You don’t even really get you. You surprise and dismay yourself sometimes with your stubborn ways and stupid choices, huh? We’re all in that boat. The one besides God who gets you is not for you, he is against you. He is your enemy. Listen to me, please, this is important – Satan gets you. He knows exactly what brings you happiness and how to steal it. He knows what trips you up and has his finger ever ready to pull the trigger to make you fail miserably.

You have the power to either slam the door on the enemy, or swing it wide open for him to run rampant in your mind, in your relationships, in your finances and in your health.

Have you left your life open to the attacks of the enemy? Has the one who is against you been playing in your head? Has he been running the show and making your decisions for you?

For many of us, the answer is yes. We’ve just been going through the motions of life and allowed the negativity to overtake our thoughts and actions and as a result we are living far below our potential as just a shell of the women we were created to be. That’s not God. That’s not his plan for you. That’s the result of an open door of access to the enemy and the destruction in your life is a result of his access.

So, are you ready to close that door? Are you ready to reclaim the life and blessings God is offering you? Awesome, I’m really glad you are listening this morning.

In James 4:7 the bible says Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

And this is exactly what we will do. We will submit ourselves to God and we will resist the devil. How about a breakdown in exactly how to do that today?

First, submit yourself to God. There isn’t a 10 step detailed plan with a ritual you must follow. God is so accessible. He is personal. He is your Papa. To submit yourself to him you can simply quiet yourself and say God I am yours. My favorite way to surrender to God is to sing to him. I turn on some Hillsong music while I’m working and I belt it out to my Jesus. I tell him you are mine and I am yours. I need you. I want you in my life. I surrender every detail to you. Please guide me. Remember, he gets you. He understands you. And he still loves you wildly. He loves you even more because he gets you.

Now, how do you resist the devil? First resisting the devil is a natural bi-product of submitting yourself to God. When you are submitting and surrendering to God, you are resisting the devil. You are clinging to truth instead of his lies. Focus your attention on the submission instead of the resistance. If you focus solely on resisting the devil, you’re focusing on him. You will move toward that which your focus is on. So be very careful here.

Recognize the imitations the enemy is offering you and turn away from his cheap dealings. He offers you quick and easy. He offers you short cuts and laziness. He offers you a pill bottle or a wine glass. He offers you immediate gratification or escape. If you’re going to resist the devil, you must turn down his offerings and let’s be honest, his deals are pretty enticing at times. Who doesn’t like a little escape or some immediate gratification? But recognize the source. This isn’t what you want in your life. What you want is God’s goodness, so intentionally turn yourself towards what God is offering you.

James 4:8 says “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” If you will take one step towards God, he will take a thousand towards you.

Submitting to God is turning to him. Sometimes we need to physically turn ourselves around and head the other direction. You’re heading to the refrigerator to eat your feelings … ahhhhh no girl, turn it around. You’re walking straight into temptation and destruction, you don’t need that in your life, turn it around. Run to God. I mean run to him. Don’t walk. Don’t dilly dally. Girl, you better get to running. Resist the devil by turning to God. Seek God’s will for your life today. Seek his way. Seek his comfort. And if anything has even a hint of the devil’s fingerprints on it, you slam that door and head the other direction. Leave no wiggle room or open doors which allow him access in your life. Not today Satan, and not tomorrow either.