Drawing Near to God

“‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’  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…Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” –James 4:6-8, 10 (ESV.  Read James 4:1-12).

James gives much practical advice for the Christian in how to conduct a godly life.  How to draw near to God is a theme throughout his epistle.  He spares no words in instructing his readers about living a life of faith and dedication to God.  His advice is that we are to be “doers of the Word and not hearers only” (1:22-25). He warns us against the sin of gossip, reminding us that the tongue is a little member of our physical makeup but can wreak havoc in stirring up trouble (3:1-12).  At the outset of his epistle, he reminds us that trials of various kinds can be expected in the Christian life.  Just because we are followers of God in no way insures that the road will be easy or the burden light.  But permeating the teaching of James is the assurance that God is near and ready to answer, to give strength in weakness and to walk with us through all trials of life.

Today’s focal passage begins with James quoting from Proverbs 3:34: “Toward the scorners He is scornful, but to the humble He gives favor.”  From the Septuagint, this would have been a familiar teaching for Jewish Christians.  And from a practical nature, as well as the admonition from another familiar proverb, Christians should know that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Drawing near to God involves a definite abeyance of an individual’s haughtiness and sense of self-sufficiency.  Humility is at the heart of drawing near to God.  It is recognition that we need a higher Power to guide and direct us, to be submissive to and to trust.  And just when we are ready to rely on God, the devil, that deceiver and tempter, will be present to tell us we do not have to rely on God, that we can, indeed, succeed on our own as we follow paths of least resistance.  Yet God is persistent and keeps urging us to ‘draw near’ to Him.  As James stated in 4:6, it is God who ‘gives more grace.’  And it is this gift of unmerited favor as we deliberately draw near to Him that strengthens us and gives us renewed determination to follow God.

Drawing near to God involves first, submitting to God.  This is a term with military connotation and means to get into one’s proper rank and position and follow the chain of command.  And then drawing near to God involves the worshiper’s humility before God.  Sometimes you may have heard someone voice a prayer such as this:  “Make me (us) humble, God.”  Humility must begin in the heart of the worshiper by confession of sins and turning from them—and certainly the sin of pride.  The worshiper must become humble of his/her own volition, an action of stripping self away and seeking cleansing and restoration.  “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18, ESV).  The end results of drawing near to God are that our search for holiness and peace will be rewarded as He promises, “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever” (Isaiah 32:17, ESV).

Prayer:  Thank You, Lord, that the spiritual exercise of drawing near to You cleanses, refreshes and strengthens us, for now and for all eternity.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen

Seeking the Lord’s Will

“Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:12-13 (ESV).

Jeremiah foresaw a time when people would genuinely call upon the name of the Lord, turn to Him in dependence and faith, seek Him with the entire heart, and God will hear and answer.

We have gone through a period when America was challenged to “Pray the vote.”  No doubt, many earnestly prayed.  And when the results of the election were announced, many may have been greatly disappointed, wondering indeed if the Lord’s will had been done.

How can we go forward from this point, seeking still to seek God’s face and God’s will for our country?  James gave us a strong clue in James 4:15:  “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.’”  We learn from history that when William Henry Harrison was elected president in 1840, he had great hopes for his leadership of our country.  On inauguration day, he delivered the longest speech of any presidential inaugural address before or since, lasting for one hour and forty-five minutes.  In the speech he gave detailed projections of what he hoped to accomplish in his tenure as president.  The day he delivered the speech was bitterly cold and he was not properly clad against the inclement weather.  Unfortunately, he contracted an infection that turned into pneumonia. A month later President Harrison died, not living to see the fulfillment of the dreams he had for his country.  “If the Lord wills”…is a stronger condition than we humans can comprehend or understand.  Man often plans and seeks to accomplish tasks he feels may be within the parameter of God’s will.  But sometimes the best-laid plans of mankind cannot be fulfilled.  God has an ultimate plan that will be worked out in His time and in His way.

In the meantime, what is left for believers to do?  Jeremiah had the right perspective.  Call upon the Lord.  Pray to Him.  Seek and find him.  Be so completely aligned with God that what we pray is a reflection of what God intends for the best answer for His people.  Is there a way we can know when we have done this?  Our prayers are surrounded by our genuine wish that God’s will be done.  Some serious problems still threaten the very stability of our beloved nation.  Even though laws have been passed that will allow abortion, same-sex marriage, and extravagant, above-budget spending and waste, these do not comply with God’s principles as set forth in His Word.  We cannot let up on our stand for what is right, nor can we fail to pray that these violations of God’s laws persist.  “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).  We needed prayer before the election.  We need to continue faithfully in prayer.  We could change the words of the familiar spiritual to read:  “It’s my country, it’s my country, it’s my country, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”

Persevering in Suffering

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.  And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.  To Him be the dominion forever and ever.  Amen.” I Peter 5:6-11 (ESV).

Peter knew that his fellow Christians would suffer for the faith.  He himself was imprisoned and persecuted.  Tradition (in writings of Eusebius and Jerome) holds that Peter was martyred for the faith by crucifixion, and asked to be placed on the cross upside down for he did not consider himself worthy to be crucified in an upright position as Christ had been.  His advice is sound for any age.  Humility should be the mark of a true believer.  Even in suffering, God’s people are to give themselves over entirely to Him.  Think that God leads us with His mighty hand, reminiscent of the children of Israel delivered from Egyptian bondage and being led in the exodus by God’s hand.  Anxiety robs one of needed faith, so “cast all anxieties on Him” knowing all the while how much God cares for you.  Anxiety is a form of pride because it looks inward and seeks fulfillment of selfish motives.  Humility and anxiety cannot dwell in the same heart, for anxiety indicates that we are not trusting God for His guidance and protection.  The Christian is to be sober-minded and watchful for the devil watches for any weaknesses and anxieties believers harbor.  He can quickly pounce on a worried, anxious person and cause him to stumble.  To emphasize the power of the devil, Peter pictured him as an untamed lion, looking about for whomever he can attack and devour.  But fear not!  The Christian has the resources to resist the devil.  And major among the weapons is a firm faith.  Abaddon, Apllyon, Devil, Satan (all names for the destroyer), is a formidable enemy, and we should never joke about him, underestimate his power to deceive or allow him to gain the upper hand in our lives.  We wonder how often Peter remembered the night when he denied Jesus Christ three times.  Peter certainly could write convincingly later about the power of Satan, for he had encountered him head-on.  Both Peter and James gave us advice on how to counteract the devil’s attacks:  “Resist the devil and he will flee from you,” wrote James (4:7). 

Many foresee suffering for Christians in the near future.  Already in many places in the world Christians are undergoing severe persecution.  Now our persecution in America is along lines of ridicule and movements by those who want to rid America of practices we’ve held dear since the founding of our country.  The “politically correct” adherents want to remove references to God, prayers in public places and tax exemptions for religiously-affiliated institutions, among other things.  Paul ended this section on persevering in suffering by encouraging the persecuted Christians to remember that their trials would be for a short duration and then God would bring them to the promised glory.  God will also “restore , confirm, strengthen and establish” all who remain faithful during tribulations.  Dr. Warren Wiersbe observes:  “When an unbeliever goes through suffering, he loses his hope; but for a believer, suffering only increases his hope.”  In our forty days of uniting in prayer in America, we are praying that God will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish” Christians so that we will be able to stand in this day of difficulties and distractions that would sidetrack us from the major purpose of being strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Prayer.  Lord, look with favor on Your people who are called by Your name.  May Christians stand firmly for what is right, weigh the issues and choose wisely those with grave responsibilities for leading our country.  Guide us in these days before the election on November 6.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Cultivate Humility

“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” –Proverbs 22:4 (ESV) “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”-Philippians 2:3 (ESV). “Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that He has made to dwell in us?’ But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” –James 4:5-6 (ESV).Humility is a personal characteristic that is often sadly lacking in modern day society. Sometimes, to define a word, we must state the opposite of what it means. Humility is seen in those who are not arrogant, not proud, not puffed up. Humility is meekness, not thinking of oneself as better than others.

Both the Old and New Testaments teach the value of humility. In Psalm 51:17 and Micah 6:8 we learn that God desires even more than sacrifices, that the worshiper have an humble spirit. We usually think of an humble person as lowly, not with riches or fame, yet Proverbs 22:4 states that “the reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Kings were reminded to be humble so that God could exalt them. In Jesus Christ, we have the epitome of humility. Jesus invited all his followers to come to Him and, like Him, to follow humility: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is lightl." (Matthew 11:28-30).

Early in my husband’s ministry, I had a very good example of humility in action, in a lady in our church who was humility personified. Soon after we moved to that church Mrs. Pearl asked me to go with her on a mission to someone ill whom we needed to visit. Pearl had told me in advance that one of the women’s groups at the church was caring for a sick, needy lady, and my pre-assigned job for this mission was to make some homemade chicken soup. Pearl drove us to a run-down, shabby area of the neighborhood and stopped at a very poor house. When we went in, I was introduced to the patient, a very thin, emaciated lady lying on a not-too-comfortable looking bed. After introducing me, Pearl then went into action, directing me in a firm but gentle way of what needed to be done. She would bathe the patient and change her bed while I was to clean the two room house as best I could. (Yes, Pearl had brought all the cleaning equipment we needed which we had unloaded from her car, including rubber gloves for both of us while we did our work). After a while of very hard work, we had our patient clean, settled into a clean bed, in a straightened up and much cleaner house. I found out that Pearl did this mission of mercy every week, and had lined up other women to help care for the patient on a rotating basis, so that she would have fresh food and visits from someone every day of the week. A task? Yes. But leading the way by example was Pearl, one who presided well and with dignity over the Woman’s Missionary Union Associational meeting, and could hold her own in almost any discussion or meeting. But she had a servant heart, the humility and love to help one of the very lowliest and neediest persons in our community. I remember with gratitude the example Mrs. Pearl set for me. She was living out the scripture, “He gives more grace.” She wanted no praise for the good deeds she did for the poor, sick woman in our community who needed help so badly. There was a need and Mrs. Pearl was willing to lead out in fulfilling that need. Her acts of compassion drew no attention to herself. She saw and acted upon needs. She exemplified humility in action. What can you do for others in the spirit of humility?