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How to Resist Satan, August 27
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.
James 4:7
.
Our work is to “resist the devil,” not harbor his doubts; and if we do
this, the promise is “he will flee from you.”
But the question is often asked, How can I resist Satan? There is only
one way by which you can do this, and that is by faith, taking Christ as
your helper and pleading with Him for strength. When Satan suggests
doubt to your soul, when he tells you that you are too unworthy, too sinful,
to realize the blessing of God, present Christ before him as your Advocate
and Saviour. Tell him you know that you are a sinner, but that Jesus came
to seek and save that which was lost. He came “not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance” (
Mark 2:17
).
Repeat His promises: “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”
(
John 6:37
).... “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace
with me; and he shall make peace with me” (
Isaiah 27:5
). “Whatsoever
ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (
Matthew 21:22
). Be
simplehearted enough to believe these promises of God. When Satan comes
to you, and tells you that because you are unhappy, perplexed, and troubled
you are not a child of God, do not become discouraged for one moment,
but gird up the loins of your mind. Let your heart repose in God. He has
promised that if you come to Him, you shall find rest to your soul; and if
you have done this, rest assured that He will fulfill His word in you....
Many pass long years in darkness and doubt because they do not feel
as they desire. But feeling has nothing to do with faith. That faith which
works by love and purifies the soul is not a matter of impulse. It ventures
out upon the promises of God, firmly believing that what He has said, He
is able also to perform. Our souls may be trained to believe, taught to rely
upon the Word of God. That Word declares that “the just shall live by faith”
(
Romans 1:17
), not by feeling
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38
The Youth’s Instructor, July 8, 1897.
252