James 4:1,2,3. Conflicts and disputes among believers are always harmful. James explains that theses quarrels result from evil desires battling within us. We want more possessions, more money, higher status, more recognition. When we want badly enough to fulfill these desires, we fight in order to do so. Instead of aggressively grabbing what we want, we should submit ourselves to God, ask God to help us get rid of our selfish desires, and trust him to give us what we really need. James mentions the most common problems in prayer : not asking, asking for the wrong things, asking for the wrong reasons. Do you talk to God at all ? when you do, what do you talk about ? Do you only ask to satisfy your desires ? Do you seek God’s approval for what you already plan to do? Your prayers will become powerful when you allow God to change your desires so that they perfectly correspond to his will for you.
James 4: 4,6. There is nothing wrong with wanting a pleasurable life, God gives us good gifts that he wants us to enjoy. But having friendship with the world involves seeking pleasure at others expense or at the expense of obeying God. Pleasure that keeps us from pleasing God is sinful, pleasure from God’s rich bounty is good. The cure for evil desires in humility. Pride makes us self-centered and leads us to conclude that we deserve all we can see, touch or imagine. It creates greedy appetites for far more than we need. We can be released from our self-centered desires by humbling ourselves before God, realizing that all we really need is his approval. When the Holy Spirit fills us, we see that this world’s seductive attractions are only cheap substitutes for what God has to offer.
James 4:7. Although God and the devil are at war, we don’t have to wait until the end to see who will win. God has already defeated Satan and when Christ returns, the devil and all he stands for will be eliminated forever. Satan is here now, however, and he is trying to win us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit’s power, we can resist the devil, and he will flee from us.
James 4: 10. Humbling ourselves means recognizing that our worth comes from God alone. To be humble involves working with his power according to his guidance, not with our own independent effort. Although we do not deserve God’s favor, he reaches out to us in love and gives us worth and dignity, despite our human shortcomings.
James 4: 13. It is good to have goals, but goals can disappoint us if we leave God out of them. There is no point in making plans as though God does not exist because the future is in his hands. The beginning of good planning is to ask: ‘’ What would I like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will I react if God steps in and rearranges my plans? We can plan ahead, but we must hold on to our plans loosely. If we put God’s desires at the center of our planning, he will never disappoint us.
Be merciful to others, as God is merciful to you.
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GZ
