Tuesday 30 May 2023

May 30: James 4:1-10

Key Verse: James 4:6
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’

Devotion:
We do like to blame fights and quarrels on just about anything we can but truth be told it is because of our own wants and desires being in conflict with someone else's wants and desires – it really is as simple as that! How far we are willing to go will dictate how other people see us. How God sees it is entirely on the truth which is within your heart, that is the big difference between man and God!

Where we go to fulfil our wants and desires is what will either separate us from God or draw us closer to Him! God wants us to talk to Him and ask Him for things in our lives. How He answers and how we listen will show us whether we are willing to obey our God or to continue to work against Him and His will. Sometimes we ask one thing and expect another because of our wants and desires – we are looking for the earthly answers to our desires instead of looking to God for guidance in our lives.

If we are willing to humble ourselves before God and to listen to His advice, then we move closer to living the best life we can; God is the one who wants us to have the best life we can have and He will continue to try to guide us forward in that life. If we are too proud to admit He knows best, then the most we can expect in life is to have earthly rewards and  not Heavenly rewards.

Which brings us back to the opening statement… If we do ignore God’s advice and listen to the world’s advice, we get to enjoy worldly rewards which often work against God’s ways – because people have their own wants and desires and will go in whatever direction they can to fulfil those wants and desires. This is why the apostle says we work against God if we do not do things His way.

Points to Ponder:
What are you desires in life?

Do these fall in line with God’s will?