Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(James 4:7-8 NKJV)
Do you ever feel like nothing is going right? No matter what you do, a dark cloud follows you. In times of storms, we often seek the shelter of God’s protective hand. James tells us how we can unlock the doors that stand between us and the Lord.
When life is good, we can slip into some bad habits. Habits that create a gulf between us and God. Prayerlessness and an unopened Bible can slowly lead to sin. Sins that we don’t even recognize.
First, James tells us to submit to God. Notice we have to be obedient to the Lord before we are able to resist the devil or draw near to God.
God is holy, and while He loves us dearly, He hates sin. He can have no fellowship with it.
So, if the waters have become rocky, and we feel removed from God, sin might be the culprit. It doesn’t have to be a heinous sin. It only takes one broken link for a chain to break. In my life, sins of attitude and unforgiveness become my struggles.
Once we confess our sin to God, and He sees us turning away from it, (this is repentance) we can move on to resisting the devil. I love the fact that we don’t have to chase him away. He will run from us when we resist. We take an unwavering stand against the devil, and he sees we aren’t budging. He scampers away.
Once our sin has been dealt with, and we have firmly stood our ground, then we can draw near to God. Then He draws near to us.
A close walk with God should be our desire every day. We don’t just get up one morning and declare, “I’m not going to walk close with the Lord today.”
No, it happens slowly. Over time. Subtle changes occur until one day, we realize something is off. Sometimes God pulls us back to Him through suffering. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin.
When we draw near to God and He draws near to us, we walk in the abundant life. We feel His power and strength. We are now in His presence.
When we sense we have abandoned the abundant life, we can turn to these verses. Step by step, we can get back to the life Jesus promised. A life of blessing and power. A life in the presence of God. A life that frightens the enemy.
Heavenly Father, purge me and give me a clean heart! Uncover my secret sin. Give me the power to leave it far behind. In Jesus’ name, amen.
DIG DEEPER
Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
HIKING THE TRAIL
What practical steps can you take today to draw near to God? How would this look as a daily routine?
RELATED RESOURCES
Today only!! Eyes of Faith: Winning the Battle Between Our Feelings and Our Faith Only $4.99 (Save 50%) Click Here
Trouble checking out? Use this quick link: Click here!
Originally posted on January 22, 2021 @ 3:00 am
Stepping out of God’s will does effect that relationship. After I spent a long time in prayer about something and God was not answering that prayer “I” took it upon myself to do what I thought God would of answered yes to. I did my will not Gods and things began to happen in my life that were not pleasant. No God did not create these things but he allowed them yo happen and these events did get my attention and I quickly realized that God had indeed given me an answer to my prayer and it had been a NO but I did not want to accept that NO so i ignored it and did what I wanted. Well in my down time from events that stopped me in my tracks I apologized to God and asked Him to restore me to where He wanted me. Yes that required me to trust Him in ALL things but I did and I am where I am right now because I chose to do life God’s way for a change.
So many woman can’t understand why they are never fear of like depression, for example when they have sin in their lives. Not that all depression goes away when you are in God’s will, but it sure helps. Thank you for your comment and purchase.