that the Holy Spirit,whom God has placed within us,
jealously longs for us to be faithful?
He gives us more and more strength
to stand against such evil desires.
As the Scriptures say,
"God sets himself against the proud,
but he shows favor to the humble."
So humble yourselves before God.
Resist the Devil,
and he will flee from you.
Draw close to God,
and God will draw close to you.
Wash your hands, you sinners;
purify your hearts, you hypocrites.
Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done.
Let there be sorrow and deep grief.
Let there be sadness instead of laughter,
and gloom instead of joy.
When you bow down before the Lord
and admit your dependence on him,
he will lift you up and give you honor.
James 4: 5-10 NLT
I must admit that as I begin to study this section of James my heart trembles. God has clearly given me verse 8 as this years verse, and I wonder what the year will bring.
In just these few short verses I see areas such as deep sorrow over sin, confession, pride, humility, hypocrisy, resisting temptation, faithfulness, and total dependence on God. Am I really ready to allow God to work in these areas of my life,my heart?
It's day three of the new year and already I've sat before the Lord this morning in tears, sobbing. While I can't go into details of what brought on the tears I can tell you that already God is showing me areas where I need to apply more grace, humility, and total dependence on God. I need to be sensitive to others, I need to allow God to work in me and stop fighting those areas that are so hard to let go of.
I need to submit to the will of God for my life. I need to embrace God.
I have sat here at my desk with your page up for about 15 minutes just trying to take in the word submit.
ReplyDeleteMuch room to reflect...Thank you for the fodder.
Wow Sharon. Such honesty here - it's a courageous step to take these words to heart and to allow God to humble you. Submission is never easy.
ReplyDeleteHave you visited Lysa Terkeurst's blog? She wrote a book on radical obedience which touched me greatly and her posts lately have been on this topic. You might like it (link is on my page).
i'm always impressed with your honesty. i think it ministers to others more than you know. and by being open and honest, i think you are allowing God to work through you and showing your dependence on Him.
ReplyDeletethank you.
These are all things I need to work on as well and I appreciate your honesty. The verse touched me yesterday and again today.
ReplyDeletePS - love the new header!
Oh sweet Sharon~
ReplyDeleteYes, I think our hearts are beating to the same drum. I am praying for you right now. Thank you for your beautiful post as well.
Sweet Blessings!
Just when we think that our hearts are pure before Him the light of the Holy Spirit shines deeper and brighter and He revels to us the places that we have kept for ourselves. Then He will ask us to give it over to Him. The flesh in us wants to hide parts of our lives from God but the spirit in us wants to draw closer to the Father..... When I have those times with the Lord I have learned to understand that He is taking me to new places and He is preparing my heart....... Growth is never easy with the Lord but rewards are eternal. I love the book of James, he gives such instruction to the believer to move ever closer to the Lord.......... thanks for your words of encouragement today
ReplyDeleteSharon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind comment on my blog today. I was blessed by your transparency with this post. What a blessing it was to visit your blog tonight.
Sweet dreams, Joanne
Hello Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI'm visiting the blogs of people that posted on my sight and inviting them to sign up for a give-away I am having. No gimicks - just fun. It's my way of celebrating one year of blogging.
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/