Listen to today’s devo!

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

Expanded Passage: James 4:1-8

As a child, I loved magic. All my Christmas and birthday money went to magic tricks to perform for family, friends, and the occasional birthday party. One of my favorite close-up effects was a small plastic mummy case and resident mummy. When anyone without my magical powers would try to put the mummy in his case, he would immediately jump out. A magical tap and “Abracadabra”—the mummy would rest peacefully in his case.

Now I know that good magicians don’t tell their secrets, but since I was never that good, I’ll let you in on the secret. The mummy was a plastic-encased magnet, and the case had a sliding magnet in the bottom. When the case’s magnet was at the mummy’s head, the same polarity of the magnets made the mummy magically leap from its case. When the case’s magnet shifted to the bottom, the opposite poles lined up and the mummy stayed snugly in his case.

Our lives also have magnetic poles. God created you so that when you “come near to God . . . he will come near to you” (James 4:8). The Holy Spirit is the force that draws us to the Father. And when we have the right polarity, being drawn to God also acts as a repellent to our spiritual enemy, Satan. It’s impossible to be drawn to both!

Stand firm against the devil, and he will flee.

James N. Watkins is an author, editor, and ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.