Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10
JAMES 4 – PART 4 “Are you Serious?”
James 4:9 is a bit of a downer… (NIV) “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.” The MSG says, “Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious.”
How do you feel? Ready to turn your doom and gloom on?
It’s not actually suggesting that we need to weep and wail and mourn just for the fun of it.
Think of it as a story arc.
When you break up with someone; or something significant happens and you feel loss – the pain of letting go, of realising how wrong you’ve been, or how much you’ve hurt others, or how hurt you’ve been – you experience a period of grief. It’s a sign that you’re serious about what’s going on and that you understand exactly where you’re at. Just like the Message Bible puts it, it shows that you are serious about change.
You’ve heard the saying “sometimes they have to hit rock bottom before they start to get better”?
It’s a moment of awakening. When you realise how dirty your hands are and that you want to get them clean. It’s a holy and sacred moment.
As you draw near to God, He draws near to you. And He draws out of you the things that hold you down and harm your journey. Sometimes it's confronting, like pulling a splinter from your skin.
But then comes the freedom of release.
After tragedy, there comes a time where you feel strength and clarity start to emerge. Its like the pain is a purging… a leaving behind. You’re left with a clean slate – stronger and wiser than before, more determined than ever for something meaningful to be built upon it.
James 4:10 ends with “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour.”
He won’t strike you to the ground when you say no to sin and walk towards Him in humility. Rather He runs towards you, embraces you, calls you His own and honours you with the life of His Son and the promise of hope.
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