Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:7-10
Keep in mind the context of these verses, for they fall within a passage that began at 4:1 and that runs through 4:12. So far, James has talked about how we quarrel among ourselves because we have an internal conflict going on in our minds. Then he discussed how we create enmity with God by holding on to the ways of this world, and now he tells us how to “fix” the situation, to bring about a cease-fire in our own heads, stop fighting among ourselves and be reconciled to God. His solution isn’t even complicated, not that we should be surprised with a simple solution…
Submit to God; resist the devil.
Simple!
If your first thought is something like, “How can I resist the devil?” raise your hand. Ah yes, I thought so!
If it were impossible to resist the devil, would James tell us to do it? Look at what he said there: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The devil is a crafty old bird and a dangerous opponent, but he is neither all-powerful nor all-present nor all-knowing, and there is no way he can stand up to the One who lives within, the Holy Spirit. Now you might think I’m just a little crazy, but I think this verse is not only a simple solution to the problem, it is also a very encouraging and empowering solution.
Look at the next verse and notice what happens when we decide to come near to God… God comes near to us: See ya devil!
Then James goes on to a rather curious few lines about washing hands, purifying hearts, mourning and wailing, sort of apocalyptic kind of phrasing. He also seems to address this to “sinners” and “double-minded”. Let’s be clear on this, he isn’t addressing this to the “lost” he’s addressing this to you and me. Remember, the ones who are in relationship with Christ, but still holding onto the ways of this world…? (double-minded)
The image that pops into my mind as I read this is that of a father scolding his children for their naughty behavior while the children try not to laugh, so hilarious were their antics in their own little minds and the father is warning them to wipe those smiles off their faces!
The message of course, is that we need to knock off the nonsense that results in fighting, arguing and holding back from serving God, and in humble submission seek forgiveness, and not only are we forgiven, but we are lifted up into His likeness. This should be an obvious and easy fix, but I wonder… is there something that could possibly hold us back from this simple solution to the problem?
Sounds like a “homework” question to me!
Life Project Blog 
I like this post a lot. Submitting to God, for me, was as simple as settling, in my own mind, where the honor I wanted comes from.
Joh 5:43-44 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
I had to train myself to resist men who came in any other name. The honor that comes from God frees men from the men who use the threat of exclusion to control others.
My reasoning: If others haven’t submitted to Jesus and the disciples He sent out, how could they teach me to submit to God?
That’s a fiar question for certain.
When you look at a scripture like this, the message is clear and simple. Keeping it within the context of the chapter makes it really easy to understand. This is a fine example of what I teach in Sunday School with the teens. We are reading Genesis. The chapters are self explanatory if we all them to be. There is no need for “deep” thought. If we want to go “deep,” we may find ourselves drowning!
Too funny… but true!
Pride.
That would surely do it!
Reblogged this on A Brief Reading From The Bible.
I have been in the book of James in recent days. In order to help a daughter out with some advice on temptation as well as a reminder to myself that God always wants us to do the right thing. Be it resist temptation or get our act together as christians. Always reminding us to stay on the good road. I love the Lord for his grace and ever loving kindness. I had one of my sons call last night for prayer and it was a difficult situation for them. However I knew that God was up to the task and I wasn’t. So I prayed and gave it to God. Sometimes it is just to much for us to handle. Give in,give up and trust in the almighty. Your post always challenge and stir my heart Don. Keep them coming. God speed my brother.
Thank you so much, and I will as long as God wills it! All the best in Christ to you and your family
Being a double-minded Christian is surely a lousy place to be. I think one of the challenges of the church today is to produce the “single-eye” Christian amid our materialistic culture. Contentment with God’s grace is a difficult concept for more than many. Your post reminds of that and prods me to evaluate my focus.
Excellent…thanks John!
Reblogged this on fitlifeaf and commented:
Amazing read. The bible tells us not to be “lukewarm”. We cannot have one foot in the world and the other in the word of God. It doesn’t work like that. Flee the devil!!
Very timely post it seems. Lately I have read things as well as heard sermons/devotionals regarding the subject of being double-minded and of fleeing temptation. Very convicting ! Praying for the Lord to make clear to me in what ways I am falling into each of those traps so I can better address those things.
Great idea, seek Him and follow His lead, that’s the key
Reblogged this on kdramaostersheet and commented:
Love this! Read the verse at first but didn’t fully understand it. 🙂