Submitting ourselves to God means surrendering our lives to Him. It seems intimidating to submit ourselves to God because it feels like we are giving up our freedom—the freedom of living our lives in whatever or however we want. However, submitting our lives to God is a way to our freedom—freedom from sin and death. When we do not submit ourselves to God, we live our lives in whatever or however we want. We become a slave to the desire of our hearts, and if God is not in our hearts, we become a slave to our sinful desires. The reason that many people are suffering today is because of sin. They have chosen to follow the ways of this world and disregard God in their lives; as a result, they are suffering from the sinful choices they made. James 4:7 says, "So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you."
Satan has a significant influence on the minds and hearts of people in this world. He can easily manipulate our minds and confuse good with evil. If we are not submitting ourselves to God, Satan can deceive us by believing that evil is good and good is evil. For example, many professing Christians believe that same-sex marriage is acceptable to God, but the Bible specifically says that marriage is between man and woman (Mark 10:6-9). Another example that Satan influences our minds with lies is that he puts in our minds that God doesn't love and accept us because of the wrong things that we have done in the past. The Bible says that whoever believes in our Lord Jesus Christ and confesses sins to Him will be forgiven no matter what they have done (1 John 1:9). Satan can easily put fears in our minds, but the Bible says that He did not give us a spirit of fear but confidence in Him (2 Timothy 1:7).
If we want to be freed from the influence of Satan that puts fear, sin, and death in our minds, we need to submit ourselves to God. We gain our freedom from Satan's influence, lies, and deceit when we completely surrender our lives to God.
Ask yourself these questions: Do I submit my life to God? What does it mean to submit myself to God? What is the danger of not submitting myself to God?
Write down all the worries you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for giving me freedom from the bondage of sin and death. I am forgiven of my sin because of what my Lord Jesus Christ had done on the cross. Please help me submit myself to you always and resist the influence of Satan in my life. Protect me from Satan's lies and deceits. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.