7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
How much of a hold does the world have on you? Don't compare yourself to those around you, but just look at yourself. Are you thinking that you need a bigger house, a newer car, the latest fashions, the most recent technology, or a leaner body? Just this morning on my run, I struggled with that very thought. I don't believe that God says NEVER to these things, in fact, it's God who wants us to enjoy pleasures on earth. "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). God smiles when He watches you enjoying a cup of coffee with a friend, or savoring an expensive meal, or cheering at an exciting football game, or slouched over in a belly laugh. So, let us be clear that God is not a God who doesn't want you to just have some fun sometimes. He is delighted when you enjoy the gifts He's given you! However, He still wants to be the one who has your heart.
Verse 4 tells us that friendship with the world makes us an enemy of God. Let's make sure we have those definitions clear. The word 'friend' is defined as: a person attached to another by feelings of affection; a person who gives assistance to; a supporter; being on good terms with the other. Do you see how we can so easily become a 'friend' of the world. So, what does that world stand for? The list is endless, but what comes to my mind: money, fame, focus on yourself, power, whatever feels good as long as it doesn't physically harm someone else. Do we agree with this, support this, give assistance to this, or are attached to some of these ideas? If we do, we are attached and in support of the world. We are friends of the world. I wish I could say that this is not me, but honestly, some days it is me. We live in an age where it is ever increasingly difficult to say no to the world.
But why is this really so bad? It can't be that bad can it? Again, verse 4 says that if we are friends with the world we are enemies of God. Enemies! That's not just "we got in a little disagreement." The dictionary defines 'enemy' as: a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent. And I immediately think to myself, well, I don't feel that strongly against God. That's too harsh. But verse 5 tells us, "What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?" So, the Bible is saying that God is envious or jealous? But God says, "don't be jealous" yet HE gets to be jealous/envious? Ahh, but God is jealous FOR you. Not jealous OF you. These are two totally different meanings. He is jealous for you because He created you and loves you so much, and He wants you to love Him back! He knows the better plan for your life. When we are following the world's design, He aches because He knows there is a better way. His way. The love of the world and what it has to offer will never fulfill you the way He will. And according to verse 6, He wants to give you the grace to oppose the evil desires! He isn't even saying that you have to do this all on your own. He wants to help us.
So, what do we do when we find ourselves so easily swayed by the world? And trust me, this might need to become a daily habit, hourly habit even. Well, the following verses make it quite clear. I will let them speak for themselves: "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor."
Make the choice to humble yourself before God. Was that an expression of pain I just saw on your face? It's humiliating to humble yourself. But being humiliated isn't always a bad thing. In fact, when we humble ourselves, He will lift us up. And look how deeply sad the scripture says we should be over our sin and our desire to be apart from God! Do you feel this depth of sadness for your sin? If we knew what our sin really meant and how unworthy we really are, we would be crying! Ask God to show you the ugliness of your sin. He cannot lift us up until we have recognized the repulsive, repugnant pit that our sin really is. But His promise is that when we humble ourselves, He will lift us up. Picture a father scooping up his crying two-year old son and holding him close to his chest until he stops crying. That's what God wants to do for you today.
Choose to be a friend of God. If you have unconfessed sin in your life, tell Him. Then, let Him pick you up.
No comments:
Post a Comment