Submission and Judo...

This morning I felt like reflecting on some verses from James letter.  He covers so many good topics, but these verses are pretty foundational as they  have to do with submitting ourselves to God.  Here are the verses - James 4:7-8 NIV:

[7] "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

As I read these verses this morning, I was aware of the fact that I remembered the second half of the verse 7, the part about resisting the devil, but not the first part as much.  It is funny how certain words or phrases can become our focus, and cause us to overlook other words and ideas that are even more important.  In this case, James starts with the primary foundation of faith, submitting our lives to the Lordship of Jesus.  There can be no more important thing for me to reflect on, but my mind just raced past those words onto the resisting the devil.  As I noticed this in my thoughts, I realized that there must be a reason for my internal behavior.

First, I think there is something in me that would rather fight than submit, so my natural inclination is to focus on that which I prefer.  I think also there is some sort of competitive nature that feels battling against the enemy is more noble than submitting to one's Lord.  We are generally unfamiliar with Lordship, and similar themes here in America, and actually in much of the world, but we are all familiar with fighting.

As I was thinking more about this theme, I was reminded of some basics concerning Judo.  In Judo, the master is trained to use to attackers strength against them, using subtle shifts of momentum, and balance to throw their opponent with minimal effort.  Why do I bring up Judo, because I felt like that is what happens to us when we try to resist the devil without the strength and authority of the Lord supporting us, for that is what we receive when we submit our lives unto the Lord.

A couple of days ago, I was reflecting on the yoke of Jesus (Matt 11:38-40) as a stepping under His teaching and training.  We could replace the first half of verse 7 (quoted above) with these verses from Matthew, for they mean essentially the same thing, submitting ourselves to the Lord.  We are invited into relationship, which will include training and teaching!  We will learn from our Lord and Master and then be able to apply what we learn into our lives.  That is essentially what repentance is, learning to think differently (new ways) and then changing our actions to line up with what we have learned.

Stepping back to the theme of Judo, when I was in college we had a professor who had only one leg, and was not really a physically imposing individual.  He was, however, an expert at Judo, and had been one of the highest ranked in that sport prior to losing his leg.  We had a student who was studying judo from him, who was a monster, huge and strong.  The story (for I never saw this with my own eyes) is that the professor used to throw this huge student around like he was a rag-doll.  My point?  Strength and power alone is not sufficient to gain victory, one must be trained to battle!  When we have been trained by a master, then taking on bigger and stronger opponents is very possible.

Back to the biblical theme, I want to make sure that I am first submitting to the Lordship, teaching and training of the Lord!  In the context of that relationship, for that is really the invitation, the Lord will provide me exactly what I need to know to effectively resist the devil. I don't want to get outside myself and my abilities, thinking that I can defeat the devil on my own strength, or I will get tossed around like a rag-doll.  I want to draw-near to the Lord, and allow Him to overshadow me, and provide protection for me!  It is when I submit to His Lordship that I am able to walk in His authority and strength, to which the enemy must bow.

 So today, I am first and foremost encouraged to submit myself to the Lord, to His Lordship, to His training, to His teaching!  It is in the place of this relationship that I will have the strength, power, insight and will to resist the devil.  Lord, thank You for such a simple model for life.  Help me to see those areas where I am not submitting to You or even resisting You, rather than the enemy!  Help me to change my life to come fully under Your authority and training!