Welcome to these weeks study with Apostle James. Our prayer is that these reflections from God’s word will minister to you and help you in your day to day walk with the Lord.
We begin today by asking ourselves, what is the secret of being uplifted by the Lord. In verses 5 James says, “Or do you think scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why scripture says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”. In an earlier study with James we said that it is a dangerous thing when God gets to place where He can oppose your plan or your idea.
Ezekiel the prophet was commanded by the Lord to speak against the City of Jerusalem that became proud and started practicing detestable things before Him. Ezekiel spoke to them and said, “O city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols you have made. You have brought days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore, I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughing stock to all the countries. Those near you and those far away will mock you, O infamous city, and full of turmoil”. “Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? Ezek 22:3-5, 14.
The bible is and has been very categorical that God is never pleased when his people becomes proud and turns away from Him to things that are detestable before Him. His judgment is hash on them. God has always been faithful to us his children but on the other hand, His people remains unfaithful and ungrateful of the things He has done. We always long to follow our own ways such us self ambition, money, power and these have become idols in our midst.
The most amazing thing is that, no matter how far we stray, the Lord always continues to call us back in His grace and mercy. And no matter how great our sin looks, God’s grace is greater than our sins and all he wants from us is to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness. To the humble He gives grace because He looks at the heart and not the outside. This means God does not give his grace to all.
He will oppose the proud but give grace to the humble and broken; those who recognize their hopelessness and that without God they are completely nothing. To them God will never turn away His face but will stretch His hand to help and lift them. This is the secret of God’s uplifting. Note, to have a broken spirit and a contrite heart according to psalm 50:17 is not automatic, but is as a result of what James suggest in 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will free from you”.
Broken people will always see the need in their heart and cry to God for mercy but proud people will focus on other people’s failure and what they can gain out of them. The proud will claim to be served by others but the broken person longs and enjoys serving others. The broken will sense the limitation within them and recognize that they can’t make it in life without the savior but the proud have a personal drive that longs for power positions and pleasure which eventually leads them to destruction. Prov 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction a haughty spirit before a fall”.
God’s desire according to James 4:8, is that His people will come near to Him and He will draw near to them. "humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up".v10
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