What Winners Do
James 4:7 (NIV)
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Let me begin with a question. Have you ever been in a room or a conversation and something was happening, but you were not seeing or hearing as the crowd was? So much so to where you questioned you? The truth of the matter is sometimes being the one that doesn’t fit, understand or agree can be challenging. Let me give you reason early to appreciate where you are. Growth changes how you hear, what you see as well as what fits you. Don’t miss this, everybody is not positioned to celebrate your growth. In fact there are some who have a lifetime assignment to come against your better or to come against your growth. The trick is to create chaos so that you focus on the appeared confusion opposed to the opportunity to move forward.
We witnessed this through Minister Ravyn Brooks! Minister Ravyn was up to do 10 minutes in the word and almost immediately, she was under attack. She attempted to fight through it and it came stronger. She didn’t quit, she didn’t tap out, but she did step back. Listen, when a fighter is in the ring in the midst of a fight, even if he loses a round he knows he can gain his strength from the time he has when he goes to his corner and sits with his trainer and team. I’m trying to paint a picture to show that in the midst of a fight, during worship, Minister Ravyn had to exit and her trainers went in on her behalf. Her trainers spoke those things she already knew, but also told her opponent, the devil, we see you in the ring and you will not win! In the midst of all of this, our power went out. The outage or attempt to create chaos did not stop the fight or the comeback. Minister Ravyn came back and untied some things. She didn’t only loose some things, she led the house to Jesus. She positioned the house for deliverance.
The bible declares in Revelation 12:14 that in the midst of a fight between the woman and the dragon, God had prepared a corner for her to flee to. He not only gave her a corner to flee to, He gave her the means to get there! It records, “The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time...” In the midst of a fight, a knock down is not a knock out. A knock down is simply an opportunity to get in the corner God has prepared for you.
I’ve already switched. We’re in a season where we have to be aware that order does not mean 1, 2, 3 or this comes after that on the program. It means, God, however You shift Your house, I’m good and I’m ready. Submission is more about acknowledging than it is understanding. In this text, in light of doing things their way, in light of fitting into the crowd, I believe the writer of the text is saying you have to know that proper submission serves as protection. When you submit to God, He changes how you see, how you hear and how you respond. Because we used to stay in the fight until somebody went down, but now we resist the urge to do it our way and so that we can do it His way. We cannot resist what we embrace. You’ve got to know how to step back for a minute and allow God do what He is going to do. If you don’t engage that thing, the text says, that thing will flee.
We are here to tell God, I see different, I hear different and I move different. I am going to resist the wrong thing and embrace the right thing and watch You win the fight. We are grateful that in the midst of our fight, we can go to our corner for a reprieve. We know that we can lift up worship. That even though it may look like we are losing a round, we WILL NOT LOSE THE FIGHT! We understand that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. We understand that in a midst of a thing, God is still God. In the midst of a thing, God will still be glorified. In the midst of a thing, God came to loose some things in our life so that we will not be tied up any longer. We will be released and then we will be delivered to the places and positions that God has for His people. Thank you for the fight, God, that You can show up and show Your glory. Even when the enemy comes in and tries to distract, destroy and discourage, that we can still stand on Your word! Thank You for the comeback! We declare, “Not our house! This temple belongs to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!”
Grab this, the word resist comes from two Greek words which are stand and against. Stand on what God says against what the enemy is trying to do! Stand on what you know and resist what the enemy shows! When you’ve done all that you can, just stand! Don’t get distracted by the chaos. Keep your eyes on the prize. You might have been knocked down, but you are coming back! You are coming back because of the folks in your corner! You have a whole corner backing you, standing with you and praying for you! Losing a round does not mean losing a fight! I dare you to stand flat footed and declare for yourself, “Not my house!”
Remember to live your life without excuses!
