Submission

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  James 4:7 NIV

Our culture has made a virtue of fighting for what we want, instead of submitting to God’s plan for us. In the typical American ‘land of freedom and opportunity’ mindset, the idea of letting somebody other than myself lead my life and fight my battles is incredibly counter-cultural and is looked upon as weak; but in reality, it takes a stronger person to submit to God than to rebel against Him. The world is in the shape it is in today because everybody wants to do things their own way. In the book of Judges, the Israelites got into trouble and were taken into captivity when ‘every man did as he saw fit.’ (Judges 2:25) When I submit to God, it doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing; but as I allow Him to take my pride, bitterness, and selfishness, He replaces it with humility, forgiveness, and love.

Submitting to God isn’t inhibiting; it’s freeing. In the eyes of the world, I’m giving up my rights and my freedoms; but really, I am giving up battles that will be lost if I try to fight them. Living to serve God is hard, because it goes against my sin nature, but as I submit to Him, the ultimate power source is in control of my life. My job is to step down from the throne of my heart (it really belongs to God, anyway), and listen for Him to tell me to move. As I submit to God and resist the devil, God will fight for me.

So instead of fighting for a place in the world, I have decided to fight to stay in God’s plan for me. There is nothing wrong with having plans for my life, but He has the perfect plan, and I want mine to line up with His.