Morning

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.” James 4:7-10

I have seen this verse so many times. I just overlooked it because I never saw what it really said. Before I just thought humbling yourself meant you needed an ego check haha. But, now I see this verse in a whole new light. Suddenly I see it as very important. Humbling yourself is submitting to God in a deep way. It is an emotional acknowledgement of your own weakness and mistakes but, as well as giving that up to God to glorify His forgiveness and His love. It is drawing close to God. But what does this mean? I easily look at a verse that I find powerful but forget that it has to be acknowledged as a reality. I don’t think of it’s implications to ME.

I think it starts with prayer. Asking for forgivness. It means thinking about my actions and making efforts to change and be constant in that. And to be willing to change. It means remembering to see God’s beauty around me, in me, and in people.

Drawing close to God.

It means making an effort to feel Him. Seeking Him, desiring Him. And desiring what He wants to reveal to me, and what He wants to change in me. It means not being afraid. It means not letting the things on this earth bring me down. Because things on this earth are temporary problems. And I admit that I get down about things that have a hold on me. Things that scare me, or worry me, things I can’t control can take power over me. And I come to realize a terrifying truth in times like this. I realize that I can give up. I have the power to not talk to God, I have the power to be selfish and try to fix problems on my own. But, it is amazing to me that time and time again He calls me back. It is His voice and His will.

“I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” “Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” Isiah 41:9-10, 41:13

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now, rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Advertisement