The Path to Submitting to God
Read the Text: James 4
Memorize the Text:
Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.
(1 Peter 2:2, CSB)
Consider the Text: James 4:7-10
The child of God follows the Lord with the pursuit of complete submission. This lifestyle attempts to surrender the ways, desires, and intentions of the flesh and seeks to follow the leading, will, and ways of the Heavenly Father. In the book of James, the half-brother of Jesus challenged believers to "submit to God" as a response to overcoming the flesh and living in humility. James declared that the central theme, submit yourself, occurs through various activities that aid in the development of humility.
THE MAIN THEME: SUBMIT YOURSELF
Living in a western culture causes difficulty when we discuss submission. Our western culture elevates personal freedom and charges people to live as they desire because they hold the individual right to any activity they want. This thought process counters the very basis of the law as this perspective leads to the desires trumping any regulation. Thus, when believers receive the calls to submit the self to the Lord, they must battle the temptation of various worldviews.
James' call to submit to the Lord means that one surrenders and forfeits the tight to their will and, in return, responds to the Lord in complete obedience. The focus of life no longer centers on glorifying or building up the self but shifts to the Lord and his kingdom. To submit, the believer must constantly approach life with the mentality of dying to the self. The ability to die to the self occurs when believers identify the temptations before them and lay them at the altar before the Lord. When we think about our life, we need to assess our faithfulness in submitting to the Lord completely. Have we developed a desire to die daily before the Lord? What areas of our life have we refused to surrender?
THE ACTIVITIES THAT PROMOTE SUBMISSION
James provides five key activities that promote the ability to surrender to the Lord and live a life following him. First, James challenged believers to resist the devil. The idea of resistance means that one stands up against the evil one and does not fall prey to the temptations before them. One opposes the evil one by remaining obedient to the Lord and following his ways. James declares that the devil flees when the believer seeks to submit to the Lord in this manner. Are you living in a manner of confronting the evil one as you live in obedience to Christ?
Second, James charges believers to draw near to the Lord. The follower of Christ draws near to the Lord by repenting of sinfulness in one's life. This act allows the believer to identify disobedience and seek a course correction. As a result, the turn of repentance happens with seeking God's will and living out this will in obedience. This type of living promotes living a submitted life to Christ. What do you need to repent of today? Are you seeking the will of God and acting upon it?
Third, James commands believers to seek to clean their hands. The need for cleansing comes because of sin in one's life. Sin causes filthiness to cover one's life before the Lord. The use of the term hands indicates the action of one's life. Thus, James commands believers to cleanse themselves of the actions that disobey the Lord and oppose his will. Therefore, James desires to see believers seeking to live a clean life before the Lord and abandon the filth of sin. What cleansing do your hands need today?
Fourth, James charges believers to purify their hearts. James knew that people struggled with living as double-minded individuals. The double-minded live a life of a hypocrite. They give lip service to Jesus and then live like the world throughout the week. James wants to see believers overcome this struggle and live for Christ each moment of every day. Thus, he calls believers to purify their hearts by committing to Christ and living for him alone. What tempts you to live a double-minded life? How can you seek purity from that temptation?
Fifth, James challenges believers to approach the Lord heartbroken. When a believer comes before the Lord, their sinfulness becomes exposed completely. Thus, their approach exists as broken because of the separation between them and the Lord. This state leads to appropriate mourning over the sin that exists in one's life because of deep grief. As a result, a state of weeping occurs. A heartbroken approach prepares the believer to seek repentance and renewal and to accept the will and ways of the Lord. Do you approach the Lord heartbroken? Do you grieve over your separation from the Lord?
THE KEY OF HUMILITY
James notes that humility is the key to approaching the Lord properly. He stated that believers must approach the Lord in humility by understanding their lowly position before the Lord. Believers must recognize and stand in awe of the glory and greatness of the Lord. When a believer comes before the Lord in humility, they approach with the proper state for the Lord to work in their life to bring him glory. When you come before the Lord, do you approach excusing your sin or in humility because of the holiness and greatness of God?
James declared that when believers approach the Lord appropriately, they come in the posture for the Lord to bless them. He remarked how the one who comes exalting the self becomes humbled, and the humbled becomes joyful. The joy that comes with humility last because it comes from the presence of the Lord in one's life. Thus, we must pursue humility and approach the Lord in a proper posture.
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
