The order in James 4:7 is not incidental. Submit first — hupotassō, to arrange yourself under proper authority, voluntarily and actively. Then resist — antistēte, to take a firm stand against. Then the promise: he will flee. You cannot effectively resist from a position of self-sovereignty. The authority to stand against the enemy comes from the position of submission to God. Willpower won’t do it. Spiritual intensity won’t do it. Humility — placing yourself under the right authority — is what gives the resistance its ground.