LEARNING DAILY

James 4:7-8, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The last page of the blog was about those who refused to trust God to provide for their needs and did not give them what they wanted. They were following the way of the world rather than God’s way. James now provides five steps that lead to an inner peace with God when one realizes he has been walking as the world leads: “submit – resist – draw near – cleanse – humble yourself.”

As a Believer, you face a spiritual battle each day. Jesus told His disciples that walking the narrow way would be difficult. If you have walked with Him for very long, you have realized the truth in what He said. It begins with submitting to God. You better not try to resist the devil without submitting to God. The submit means to “line up;” it is acknowledging God’s sovereignty and trust in His perfect plan for our lives. This requires humility, obedience, and faith. It is surrendering our desires and allowing God to work through us to accomplish His will.

 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James wrote in chapter three that worldly wisdom was, at least in part, was from the devil. The devil has been responsible for creating a self-centered system from the time of Adam and Eve. When you decide to submit to Christ and His will you will have gained a new enemy – Satan. However, you can resist him. Resistance requires you to actively move away; it demands that we counter his lies with the truth of God’s Word. He will not be able to stand in the presence of God’s Truth. That is why it is so important to be reading/studying/meditating on His Word every day! It leads to putting on the whole armor of God; “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:13). You must stand firm! You must resist! When you do, the devil will flee. Do you believe that? “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). Jesus is greater than the devil! “And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18). Who has all authority? Jesus does, Satan’s authority over you is only what you give to him.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James is not necessarily writing about salvation here. He is writing about repentance. For those Believers who are still trying to follow the worldly philosophies and trying to obtain what they want – stop doing this and repent. “Draw near to God!” Stop cooperating with the devil! Look at what this does; God draws near to you! That is God’s grace. When one draws near to God, He provides the protection and strength to overcome the attacks from the devil.

“Cleanse your hands, you sinners.” You cannot serve yourself and God. Repent. This is the key to drawing near to God. James is pleading to all who read this to purify their hearts and to decide to follow God. Walk the narrow way in faith and in obedience to God’s will. I suggest that you take a moment to read Psalm 15.

“Purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Humble yourself and God will lift you up. His plans and His ways are so much higher than ours. He knows what is best for each of those who follow Him. To humble ourselves before God is to admit we are spiritually bankrupt without Him; it is to admit how much He is needed in our lives.

God hates sin, especially pride (Psalm 6:16-17) and does all He can to “knock” it out of us. The good news is His wonderful grace is given to those who humble themselves before Him.