Verse 10 of James 4:7-10: Now after all that sobbing and grieving, do we get to do something fun?
Well, first we are told to:
(first part of verse ten): humiliate your heart before the face of the supreme Lord.
What? First sobbing, now humiliation?
Humiliation is something we as humans don’t like to think about, but we are told to do just that. The key? We are to do it before the face of the supreme Lord. The heart is your feelings, your will and your intellect- we all have individual things that need to be humiliated, to be brought low in submission before God. And it is only when we get into the presence of God, alone, that we are able to discern just what those things are.
Why before the face of the supreme Lord? Because it is there that our hearts are safe, and it is there that He shall lift you up. We learn our self-worth in the presence of God. It is there that we understand how much we are loved.
The second part of that verse is the reason for the humbling: to be dignified by God.
It is from the open hand of God’s tender mercy that our self-esteem is fashioned. It is Him who gives us dignity and worth. If we allow ourselves to be dignified and elevated by the world, we are in danger of developing a distorted self-concept and fragile self-esteem. The world does not offer constancy of affection.
As Christians, we are given dignity not only because we are now cleansed by the blood of Christ and stand new, but because we can now fully realized the original purpose of mankind - to live eternally in sweet, intimate fellowship with our Creator.
If we allow our achievements or our culture or our traditions or our works to dignify and define us, then we miss it. We miss the blessing, and we miss the intimacy that only comes from being built up and restored by the One who made you.
Well, first we are told to:
(first part of verse ten): humiliate your heart before the face of the supreme Lord.
What? First sobbing, now humiliation?
Humiliation is something we as humans don’t like to think about, but we are told to do just that. The key? We are to do it before the face of the supreme Lord. The heart is your feelings, your will and your intellect- we all have individual things that need to be humiliated, to be brought low in submission before God. And it is only when we get into the presence of God, alone, that we are able to discern just what those things are.
Why before the face of the supreme Lord? Because it is there that our hearts are safe, and it is there that He shall lift you up. We learn our self-worth in the presence of God. It is there that we understand how much we are loved.
The second part of that verse is the reason for the humbling: to be dignified by God.
It is from the open hand of God’s tender mercy that our self-esteem is fashioned. It is Him who gives us dignity and worth. If we allow ourselves to be dignified and elevated by the world, we are in danger of developing a distorted self-concept and fragile self-esteem. The world does not offer constancy of affection.
As Christians, we are given dignity not only because we are now cleansed by the blood of Christ and stand new, but because we can now fully realized the original purpose of mankind - to live eternally in sweet, intimate fellowship with our Creator.
If we allow our achievements or our culture or our traditions or our works to dignify and define us, then we miss it. We miss the blessing, and we miss the intimacy that only comes from being built up and restored by the One who made you.
So, after the submitting, the resisting, the coming, the washing and purifying, the grieving and changing and humbling, we can stand refreshed and new. If you read Chapter Four in its entirety, it looks like James just stuck verses 7-10 in the middle of a discourse about relating to others and appropriate behavior. But, of course, it is an inspired, intentional placement. Why? Because in order to be rightly related to others, we must first be rightly related to God. Make your relationship with God right on the inside and your relationships on the outside will be positively affected.
Father-God, I submit myself to You. I resist the enemy of my heart and come to You to be washed and purified. I grieve over my rebellious sins and humble myself before Your throne of grace. Help me to share this inward peace to those around me.
Check out: Isaiah 45:2-7
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