Read James 4:7–12
Submit yourselves … to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.
James 4:7–8
Dr. A. W. Tozer has a profound essay in one of his books entitled
“Nearness Is Likeness.” The more we are like God, the nearer we are
to God. I may be sitting in my living room with my Siamese cat on
my lap, and my wife may be twenty feet away in the kitchen; yet I am
nearer to my wife than to the cat because the cat is unlike me.
God graciously draws near to us when we deal with the sin in our
lives. He will not share us with anyone else; He must have complete
control.
It is possible to submit outwardly and yet not be humbled
inwardly. God hates the sin of pride. If we are proud, He will chasten
us until we are humbled. We have a tendency to treat sin too lightly,
even to laugh about it. But sin is serious, and one mark of true humility is facing the seriousness of sin and dealing with our disobedience.
Something to Ponder
What are some ways that you try to “come near to God”? Which ones
seem to work best for you?