by Alec Niemi
Do you long for righteousness (being morally right) but find that self-righteousness (being morally superior) keeps getting in the way!
James addresses this issue, saying: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:1-6 (NIV)
If you long for righteousness but self-righteousness keeps getting in the way then, ‘let go and let God.’
My prayer for you this week:
“Our Heavenly Father, please help us with our pride that we might be made humble. We submit ourselves to you. We resist the devil that he might flee from us. We come near to you knowing that by doing so, you will come near to us. We wash our hands of sin, and purify our hearts from double-mindedness. We grieve, mourn and wail. We change our laughter to mourning and our joy to gloom. We humble ourselves before you, oh Lord, that you will lift us up. In Jesus name, amen.” James 4:6-10
You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2014/04/05/an_the-battle-within/