Ever since Sunday, I’ve been thinking about this idea of “resistance.” Pastor Jason shared that there is a resistance that needs to happen against the enemy in our walk with the Lord. The problem with the Pharisees that Jesus confronted was that they did not resist the devil — they actually joined his side.
Jesus speaks some very pointed words toward them in John chapter 8 verse 44:
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NIV)
Not only did they join the father of lies, but they willingly carried out his plan. They were active participants in the plot to unleash darkness. They gave into their flesh which said, “get rid of this Jesus” and upon doing so, they joined teams with their father - the devil himself.
How incredibly hard it would have been to hear these words from Jesus. Yet, this didn’t humble the Pharisees or point them to repentance — it only made them angrier.
The resistance they were willing to participate in was a resistance against God’s Spirit…not a resistance to the devil and the flesh. Every one of us are silently choosing to resist something.
Jesus makes it clear in this passage that we have a real enemy - one who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. The enemy infiltrates our thinking to make us believe that acting on these flesh-filled desires is really the only way to get our problems to go away. The Pharisees thought the only way to get rid of Jesus was to kill him. Little did they know that they could never truly kill the Son of God.
Last year I wrote a book on spiritual warfare, and one of the main verses in that book was the one Pastor Jason quoted on Sunday - 1 Peter 5:8-9:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (NIV)
This idea of “resisting” is very similarto the idea found in James 4:7:
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (NIV)
This word resist in these two verses is the exact same word in Greek: anthistemi. It means to withstand, to set one’s self against, and to oppose.
It reminded me of how we are told in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” (NIV)
Standing firm, staying still, staying the course…that is resistance.
Often times, I think when we hear about the devil or even talk about spiritual warfare, we imagine ourselves taking performative action — like there is something we need to do to get out of this hard situation. But I wonder if God is inviting us to instead, stay firm and stand our ground.
This week I heard of a group on a school trip that were invited into a mosque to bow and pray, and one boy decided he would not bow down. He was not going to kneel and bow to a god he did not believe in — so he stood. He stood there while all his classmates (including the teacher) bowed down.
That really took guts to do that, but it reminded me of this concept we are learning here to “resist.” All we have to do is stand, keep staying where we are, keeping fighting the good fight and running our race. We stay in our lane and we don’t worry about anything that can come from the right or the left. That is steadfast resistance.
Dear friend, I know you face your own challenges of things that can derail you from staying the course. I hope this concept of staying still as God fights for you will give you great encouragement and hope. Remember, it’s not about what you do or how you earn your standing with Him, it is simply that you are a child of the King and your allegiance stands with Him. Remain steadfast. Resist. He is with you.
Jesus speaks some very pointed words toward them in John chapter 8 verse 44:
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NIV)
Not only did they join the father of lies, but they willingly carried out his plan. They were active participants in the plot to unleash darkness. They gave into their flesh which said, “get rid of this Jesus” and upon doing so, they joined teams with their father - the devil himself.
How incredibly hard it would have been to hear these words from Jesus. Yet, this didn’t humble the Pharisees or point them to repentance — it only made them angrier.
The resistance they were willing to participate in was a resistance against God’s Spirit…not a resistance to the devil and the flesh. Every one of us are silently choosing to resist something.
Jesus makes it clear in this passage that we have a real enemy - one who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. The enemy infiltrates our thinking to make us believe that acting on these flesh-filled desires is really the only way to get our problems to go away. The Pharisees thought the only way to get rid of Jesus was to kill him. Little did they know that they could never truly kill the Son of God.
Last year I wrote a book on spiritual warfare, and one of the main verses in that book was the one Pastor Jason quoted on Sunday - 1 Peter 5:8-9:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (NIV)
This idea of “resisting” is very similarto the idea found in James 4:7:
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (NIV)
This word resist in these two verses is the exact same word in Greek: anthistemi. It means to withstand, to set one’s self against, and to oppose.
It reminded me of how we are told in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” (NIV)
Standing firm, staying still, staying the course…that is resistance.
Often times, I think when we hear about the devil or even talk about spiritual warfare, we imagine ourselves taking performative action — like there is something we need to do to get out of this hard situation. But I wonder if God is inviting us to instead, stay firm and stand our ground.
This week I heard of a group on a school trip that were invited into a mosque to bow and pray, and one boy decided he would not bow down. He was not going to kneel and bow to a god he did not believe in — so he stood. He stood there while all his classmates (including the teacher) bowed down.
That really took guts to do that, but it reminded me of this concept we are learning here to “resist.” All we have to do is stand, keep staying where we are, keeping fighting the good fight and running our race. We stay in our lane and we don’t worry about anything that can come from the right or the left. That is steadfast resistance.
Dear friend, I know you face your own challenges of things that can derail you from staying the course. I hope this concept of staying still as God fights for you will give you great encouragement and hope. Remember, it’s not about what you do or how you earn your standing with Him, it is simply that you are a child of the King and your allegiance stands with Him. Remain steadfast. Resist. He is with you.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.