One activity in our confirmation class involves magnets. The young people are asked to work with the magnets to see how identical poles (for example, North and North) resist each other, while opposite poles (North-South) attract. The resisting poles can really move one magnet away from the other very easily and quickly, and if done right, can make the magnets move very far.
James gives advice on making the devil, and all evil for that matter, resist you. What are we to do? What are we to do with God? What should we do before coming near to God? What do you think he means by verse 9? What will God do if we are humble?
A fear that many people have is that evil, perhaps in the form of the devil himself, can invade their lives and trouble them, making things miserable. But James has a solution. If we can be humble before God and draw ourselves closer to Him through service and Bible study, then we have nothing to fear. Satan and all of his evil will not only be unable to affect us, but he will flee from us.
The first steps of drawing nearer to God are to purify ourselves – to consciously and deliberately choose not to do evil, not to sin, and to repent of our failings. As we become intentional Christians we will adopt, naturally, an attitude of humility. And through our purified and humble attitude God will lift us up, making our lives more joyful and more complete.
Verse 9 can seem a bit confusing, but we are not to take the words literally, or at least not to take them in the sense and meaning that we are most familiar. What James is urging is a humble attitude, an attitude of seriousness and earnestness. We are to be devoted followers of Christ and not shallow or silly people. Commentaries explain that the words James uses in the original tongue – “laughter” and “joy” – imply an insincere and silly attitude.
If we submit ourselves to the work of the Lord we will need to be humble and sincere in our efforts. But the reward is great. As we draw nearer to God in his service, God draws nearer to us, becoming more and more prominent in our hearts and minds.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you draw nearer to God today?
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