In review of James 4:6, I'm reminded that “God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, ‘God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.’” (NCV)
James gives me five ways to come closer to God. 1). Humble myself before Him, yield to his authority and will, commit my life to him and his control, and be willing to follow him. 2). Resist the enemy, don't allow him to entice and tempt me. 3). Lead a pure life. Be cleansed from sin, replacing my desire to sin with my desire to experience God's purity. 4). Express deep heartfelt sorrow for what I have done. 5). Humble myself before him, and he will lift me up in honor. To humble myself means recognizing that my worth comes from God alone. Lean on his power and guidance, and not give into my own independent way. Although I don't deserve his favor, he wants to lift me up and give me worth and dignity, despite my shortcomings.
To make it through the extraordinary crisis of a pandemic and social unrest, I need to treat myself and others the way God treats me: with grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
Grace means that God always gives me what I need, not what I deserve. If I got what you deserved, I wouldn't even be here. “God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, ‘God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6 NCV).
God opposes the prideful and arrogant because they think they can do it all by themselves, apart from God. They don't think they need God or his grace. They approach life—even life in turmoil—with the mindset, “If it's to be, it's up to me.”
But when I’m humble and admit that I can’t make it through this situation on my own, God opens the floodgates of heaven. He pours out his grace. And he expects those who have been shown amazing grace to then show that grace to others.
Everybody’s having a tough time right now. To maintain my emotional health, I need to cut myself some slack and do the same for others. I can see that everybody's feeling the stress, particularly the millions of people who are out of work and concerned about the future, maybe even about how they will make it to the next day. I need to be kind and gentle. Even the hardest people to love are fighting some kind of battle right now and need my grace.
This will take a lot of humility. With tensions high, it’s easier right now to return wrong for wrong, give a sharp answer, withhold the benefit of the doubt, and speak before listening.
My neighbor needs my grace. My family needs my grace. The person you disagree with politically needs your grace. The world is on the defense, and there is nothing that will disarm people more than being given unexpected grace.
God has given me great grace. I need to go and extend that grace to others so they get a glimpse of what Jesus has done for them.
In summary, God is against the proud, but gives grace to the humble. I need to humble myself before him, and allow him to lift me up. Recognize that my worth comes from God alone. So lean on his power and guidance, and not give into my own independent way of thinking. Although I don't deserve his favor, he wants to lift me up and give me worth and dignity, despite my shortcomings. I need to treat myself and others the way God treats me: with grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Grace means that God always gives me what I need, not what I deserve. God opposes the prideful and arrogant because they think they can do it all by themselves, apart from God. When I’m humble and admit that I can’t make it through this situation on my own, God opens the floodgates of heaven. He pours out his grace. And he expects those who have been shown amazing grace to then show that grace to others. So I need to be kind and gentle. This will take a lot of humility. With tensions high, it’s easier right now to return wrong for wrong, give a sharp answer, withhold the benefit of the doubt, and speak before listening. However there is nothing that will disarm people more than being given unexpected grace. God has given me great grace. I need to go and extend that grace to others.
There is so much packed into my study this morning. It speaks not only to humbling myself but giving grace to others, even when I don’t think they deserve it. It is much easier to want to return wrong for wrong, give a sharp answer, withhold the benefit of the doubt, and speak before listening.
Father, I admit my wrong thinking and wanting to respond in the wrong ways. I pray Father with the help of the Holy Spirit in my life to remind me that I am humble and show grace at all times. I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my tasks, my leadership and my interactions with others. I ask these things through your Son Jesus name, Amen.
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