Draw Near to God

Mediation on James 4:7-10

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you." --James 4:7-10, NASB95, emphasis added

Are you submitting your life to God? Are you submitting every aspect of your life? It is not enough to submit a part here and a part there. We are called to submit our entire being under the lordship of Christ.

Are you resisting the devil? Are you resisting temptation? How are you fighting the urge to give into the temptation to sin? Are you following Christ's method for resisting the devil and temptation? Read Matthew 4:1-11. Notice that Christ quote Scripture. Are you memorizing Scripture so that you can use it against Satan?

Are you drawing nearer to God so that he can get closer to you? Are you spending time with him daily? Are you mediating upon his Word? Are you fellowshiping with other believers? Are you seeking God's face? Are seeking first his Kingdom and his righteousness?

Are you cleansing your hands? Are you seeking forgiveness for your sins and transgressions? Are you seeking a pure heart? Do you desire a pure heart? Do you long for a pure heart?

How is your thought life? Is your mind double-minded? Or are you developing the mind of Christ? Are you growing in holiness? Do you seek to be holy? Have you cried out --"Woe is me, for I am ruined!"-- like the proophet Isaiah?

Are you humbling yourself before the Lord? Are you humbling yourself before others?

"If we seek God for our own good and profit, we are not seeking God."--Johannes Eckhart

Are you seek God for the right reasons? Are you seek God with the right motives? Are you seeking after God with selfish desires? Take a moment and seriously ponder upon this question.

Know this: "There's a God we want and there's a God who is and they are not the same God. The turning point comes when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is."--Patrick Morley

Which God are you seeking after? Are you seek the God you want and desire--the God that you have created? Or are you seeking after the God who is--the sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords?