Submit, Resist, and Draw Near.

James 4:7-10 In verse four we are told that “friendship with the world is enmity toward God.” Perhaps the first thing to settle is where is our citizenship, really. Is it basically in the world? This is where we find our pleasure and enjoyment and we try to preserve our place in it. We reach out to God when we are in trouble, to help us get through it. Or, is our primary citizenship in heaven and our only real reason for being here is to be part of what God is doing here, and that is to reach the lost and be glorified in His people. Pride is what keeps us in the “friendship with the world posture,” and is probably the biggest enemy in the Christian’s life. We certainly want God to help us, but we want to do things in our own way. We come up with our ideas of how things should go and wonder why they never seem to work quite right. James quotes the verse the verse from Proverbs 3:34 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." and then tells us to “submit to God and resist the devil” Sometimes the problem is that we don’t know which voice belongs to whom. The only way we can really find out is to be regularly in God’s Word to find out what kinds of things that God says and what He doesn’t. Will it make God look good or will it cast shadows on His character? Will it build up and encourage others, or will tear them down? Will it draw someone closer to Christ or will it move them away? What impact will it have on our own walk with the Lord? As we understand more and more whom we serve and who we are in Him, the more meaningfully we can resist the devil with the authority we have in Christ. The devil has no choice but to flee. To resist him doesn’t mean to argue and reason with him. It means learning to say no! And mean it. In fact, our real power comes from drawing near to God and allowing Him to draw near to us. Where is your heart? In the world or in heaven?