4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
James 4:4-10
Dear God, when I read this passage this morning it made me think of a praise song we used to sing at our church in Waco:
I just want to be with you, so come close and put your arms around me. I just want to love you. So come here and look right at me. So I can look into your eyes. So I can see into your heart. So I can feel you by my side, and know that you’re near.
Those might not be the exact words–it’s been a long time–but I think I’m close. But I think about everything James is saying here, and I just want to drop anything that I think is mine and sink into you. The verse of the day for Bible Gateway is verse 10, the last verse. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” That’s the New Living Translation. The New American Standard ends with, “he will exalt you.” Either way, I don’t want any of that. I really don’t. I get exalted too much in our community. And I used to crave other people’s admiration. Not so much anymore. Maybe it’s just that the more I sink into you the more I want to simply live a simple life of being your child. Loving your daughter. Loving my children. Loving my neighbors. I want to resist the devil. I want to come close to you so you will be close to me. I do have tears and deep sadness for my sin. I’m sorry for how I have and how I continue to still crave things of this world.
Father, I just want to be with you. So come close and put your arms around me. I just want to love you. So come here and look right at me. So I can look into your eyes. So I can see into your heart. So I can feel you by my side and know that you’re near.
I pray all of this in the name of the one Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen