Thursday, November 19, 2009

Job - 1:1 - Fear and Shun

The description of Job begins with "he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). In James 4:7 we are told to submit to God and resist the devil.

It strikes me that the order of these actions is important. Without a proper fear and submission to God, there is no point in trying to resist the devil or shun evil. Without God I am powerless over sin, evil and certainly cannot resist the devil.

Submission to God implies a cross. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24, NIV) Submission to God requires that my flesh be mortified, as in killed, as in dead. I must surrender control to God. It is only when God is in control that the devil can be resisted and evil can be shunned.

I like the line from the movie Luther. When he felt himself to be under attack and failing, Luthor's mentor taught him to repeat the prayer, "I am yours, save me." This is a good prayer for us all.

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