I shared this with a friend recently in a note, and i thought it would be a decent first post.
James 4:7-8
"Therefore submit 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."
These verses reveal to me how much power we have in our spiritual walks. Often times I feel as if God will be near to me when He desires, and will be far from me when he desires. However, James explains to us that we have a sense of control. We not only contain the ability to have God draw near to us, we also are able to cause the devil to flee from us. Whenever I find myself distant from God, these verses are a continual reminder of where my thoughts and pursuits should be. I have to analyze whether I am drawing near to God, or instead just standing by waiting for Him. Also am I daily resisting the attacks of the devil, or am I allowing hie to sneak his lies into my thoughts?
I love how James incorporates cleansing our hands and purifying our hearts into drawing near to God. It is almost as if we cannot have one without the other. He partially gives us an idea of where to start. To me, this is equivalent to acknowledging, confessing, and turning our sins over to our Lord. Through this we humble ourselves, and also bring ourselves to the feet of our Father.
These verses have been a very intricate part of this last semester. My relationship with my heavenly Father has been consistently inconsistent. For a week, I feel close, constantly in His presence, reaping the joy and comfort He offers His children. Then the next week, it is as if I hardly remember the blessings I found in His presence, and hardly spend a second thought on the idea of spending time with Him. This constant wave that defines my spiritual walk is tiring, and reveals my weaknesses. It shouts my need for a hand to carry me when I am weak, to hold on to me when my desire is to run back to the pigsty.
"O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above."
