James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
As you work your way through the letter of James you can't help but be impressed by his directness. He keeps coming back to the black and white issues of God vs. the devil. So often I think we consider life to be removed from this conflict. Heaven and hell are concepts to have an opinion about but real life is much more practical than that (we think). But James shakes us by the shoulders and draws the line sharply between good and evil. He points out that we can be "double minded"...knowing we should do good but choosing to go a different direction. He explains that there are times when gloom is better than happiness...when we honestly evaluate the attitudes behind our actions and realize that we haven't been leaning on the Lord. What a great promise we have in verse 10. He is patiently waiting for us to return to Him, in humility, so that He can lift us up and out of the soup of self. As James states so eloquently in verse 8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
blessings,
Rob Smith
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