“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”  ~ James 4:10

The book of James tells it straight. The battle that wages is simply the world. I learned that Jesus leaned in on his power–on what God called Him to do. He didn’t complain that he never married, didn’t have kiddos, never lived in a mansion. If He had, he wouldn’t have lived in and would have missed the easy-yoked, simple and gifted life that God simply gifted to him. And thank, I said, thank GOODNESS that he stepped in to what God had for him. Same for Abraham. Same for David. And same for you and me. Today we have more “opportunities” or “options” thrown at us than ever before, but it was no different in the time when James wrote this letter. James said, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (4:1) Then he says, “You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (2b-3) What are the wrong motives? They are worldly motives. James is calling on each person who hears his message to check their hearts. The battle comes from the world. Isn’t not that the world is “out of order” it’s actually in exactly the order it is intended to be in. It is simply not the order or likeness of God; in fact it is the opposite of (opposed to ) God. James calls it simply. He says ‘get rid of the comparison, the competition with the world, the desire to have or be anything similar to this world’ Choose this day whom you will serve, whom you will reflect, whom you want to be like because we can’t be like both. And stay there. Not seeking to please the world and please God. Don’t be in one place spiritually one day and another place another day. You CAN choose. God is one. God’s Spirit is one. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He’s calling us to the same likeness–being like God, yesterday, today, and forever. Not perfect in the world’s terms, but in His, which is called “holiness” and righteousness. The world’s perfection is measured by works and mistakes. God’s perfection is measured by humility and relationship with God. Which one are you pursuing and which measure are you using to measure your life? By how humble you stay or by all of the “right” things that are expected of you? James said,

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”  ~ James 4:10

Earlier I said that Jesus leaned into his power. When we lean off of the quarreling because of the desires we have for this world and the understandings we treasure in this world, then we can lean solely on who He is what all that He has for us, which is better by far and true power. If it wasn’t possible God would not have made a book about it, but it’s war. It’s identifying differently. It’s loving God instead of this world. That simple. Day in and day out. Trusting in God instead of this world, and ridding ourselves of anything that triggers our need for this world over God. It’s time to lean in to our power. To stop complaining about what we don’t have or what we could have (from this world), and humble ourselves and see what God is up to in our lives. That’s what Joseph did and we know what God did. Joseph humbled himself and God exalted him. It’s a principle that works. What is it that works? God drawing near to the humble and using you for His glory in the way that He has predestined for you since the beginning, and its awesome! James is encouraging us to leave this world and it’s desires and trust God.

Learn more about how God made a way for you to smile today here. The joy of the Lord is our strength!

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