Category: Random Thoughts

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James 4: Submit & Resist

These words submit and resist are opposites. One can not both submit to and resist something. We need to pick and choose what we submit to and what we resist. The choices we make in this matter can be either beneficial to us or detrimental to us.

If I choose to submit to eating healthy or if I choose to resist eating junk food the result will be beneficial to my health. On the other hand if I choose to submit to eating junk food or resist eating a healthy diet my overall health will suffer. I try to submit to eating healthy, watch my saturated fats, smaller portion sizes, and get my daily intake of veggies and fruit. There are times where I just can’t resist taking a couple extra cookies or a handful of M&Ms. Eating healthy for me is a work in progress.

In James 4 we see that in our spiritual life we have choices to make. In verse 4 we see that we can’t choose to be friends with both the world and God. This simply leads faith that as James talks about in chapter 1 is tossed about by the wind and waves. It leads to a life of incongruency where what we say we believe does not match what we do. James goes on to say in verse 7 that we should submit to God and resist the devil. Submitting to God brings friendship with God and grace. Resisting the devil bring freedom from sin’s hold on our life.

Like many practices we do to draw us closer to God, submission is not an easy thing to do. Let me rephrase that, total submission is something that is not easy to do. This act of submission is easy. What does James say in verse 6, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” We need to learn to let go of those things we continue to hold on to and try and control. Submitting to God is an ongoing process. As we learn to let go and humble ourselves in one area of our life, God will bring to our attention another area that we can begin to loosen our grip on.

As we humble ourselves to God we are also suppose to resist the devil. This can be difficult at times. You see as we submit to God Satin will do what he can to have us grab that piece of our life back a the first sign of trouble or struggle. If you are a Trekkie you know that one of the federations enemies is the Borg. There tag line is just give in to us because “resistance is futile.” With a life submitted to God, resistance is futile, resistance is freedom. The question then arises, How do we resist the devil?

I think that this comes from an intimate, healthy relationship with God. The areas of our life that we submit to God has to be more than a mental exercise, it has to be indicative of a true heart change, a change in a belief or value that is now biblically grounded and is being lived out in your life. Our ability to resist the devil comes be spending time in God’s word, looking at His promises to us and seeing how He has been faithful in the past. It is by spending time reflecting on your own life and seeing where God has been active and faithful and know that if God was faithful in the past He will be faithful in the future as well. Resistance is easier if you live it out in a community of like minded people who are also on same journey as you. The key to resisting the devil is spending time alone with God in prayer, talking to Him and listen for His voice as He speaks into your life. By knowing God’s voice , by knowing God’s will, by knowing God’s character you will be able to know when you are being tempted and will be equipped to resist the devil so he does flee from you.

Know this, submission to God is a process. Take it one step at a time. Ask God what area of your life you need to be working on right now. Ask if there is a belief or value that you need to change or adopt to live out your new life choice. Find a friend or community and ask them to hold you accountable to this change. This is a life long process. You will want to come back regularly to this process, review where you have come from and set your goals for the next change God has laid on your heart.

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Ownership of Your Faith

I have spent part of this morning pondering my personal life platform (the things that I believe and value) in the context of what I was reading in James this morning about living out your faith through the things you do. Two words came to mind: emptiness and ownership.

Emptiness is how I think about the person who has faith but does not live it out. Their relationship with God has been restored but they are missing out on the privilege to live out their faith. To be honest this describes me in the early years of my journey with Christ. I knew that my relationship with God had been restored but I did not know how to live out my faith so I didn’t. My emptiness was a result in part due to ignorance or lack of discipleship. For others though this emptiness is self-imposed. They have chosen to not cultivate their relationship with God. They have chosen not to live out what they believe. Their life might be full but they are missing out on the joy that comes for living out ones faith by serving others for the Kingdom.
The other group of people that James was talking about were those who showed their faith by their actions. They have taken ownership of what they believe and have chosen to strengthen their relationship with God and with others. In a recent sermon illustration the pastor was talking about the Christians in the former Soviet Union and China and what happened to them when the government clamped down on their freedom of religion. One flourished and the other faded away. In the Soviet Union many Christians seem to have an empty faith so when the persecution came they didn’t know what to do or where to turn. In China the Christians had taken ownership of their faith so even though the above ground church went away the underground church lives on still today. Stealing a line from an old TV commercial, ownership does have its privileges.
Where does your faith stand? Are you empty or are you an owner? If you are an owner continue to live out the faith that God continues to grow in you. If your faith is empty take some time this week to spend with God in quiet reflection and ask how you can begin to live out the things that you say you believe.
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My Spiritual Marathon

More than a few years ago, as I was entering the mid-life crisis phase of my life, I decided it would be a good thing to try and run a marathon. I had in previous decades of my life run 10Ks and half marathons, but I had never taken on the challenge of the 26.2 mile endurance test. I trained well and on the day of the race I felt pretty good. My goal was to run a 10 minute mile pace and for the first half the race I was doing well. I hit the half way point running the pace I wanted. Then it happened. I hit the proverbial wall. Right around mile 18 I felt the twinge in my hamstring as it began to tighten and hurt. By mile 20 I was reduced to walking.

Let me pull back from this story and insert my pondering from this morning. Following Christ is a lot like my marathon experince. Once your relationship with God has been restored by what Christ did on the cross you enter into a period of training in your Christian walk. This is the time in your life where you are beginning to understand who God is and develop your relationship with Him. For some this is where they also end. They fail to enter the race. They grow content with the ease of training forgoing the punishment and reward of the race itself.

I don’t know when I entered the race. There is no starting line one crosses. For that matter there isn’t even a standard course. Each one runs the race that God has laid out for them. There are hills that we must climb, but there are also downhills where we can “coast” a bit. Then there are the walls that we hit. Those places in life that come at us, overwhelm us, and try to cause use to quit the race. So what are we to do? Let me return to my original story.

I could have quit when my hamstrings cramp. I had run a good race until that point. But something inside me wouldn’t let me stop. I had to push through the pain and contiue on my course. So I walked and walked and walked. At mile 23 or so my family was cheering me on so I picked it up and ran for awhile. Soon they faded behind me and I began to walk again. You see I was encouraged by my family which helped me to run again. Likewise when we hit our spiritual wall we need to find someone who can cheer us on or if the table is turned we can instead cheer on someone else. This is one reason why living out our life in community is so vital. I then continued to walk until I could see the finish line. It was a mile or so off but seeing the finish line re-energized me. I wanted to finish strong and I did. As we run the race we call life, we must be looking towards the end. Setting our sights on the end will help us to run a little strong and to finish well.

So where did my ponderings take me today? In my walk right now I am at one of my spiritual walls. My devotions have gotten tiring and my thoughts are at times wandering even more than usual. So what do I do. I need to keep pushing on. I need to reach out to my community for encouragement. I need to once again refocus on the end – deepening my relationship with God and others through the teachings of Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Needless ot say I didn’t win the marathon, in fact I finished 6856. But I finished I pushed through and completed the race. This is what God wants from us as well. We don’t need to win the race but we are told to finish well.