James 4-Surrender yourselves to God

Hey friends,

We've been making our way through the book of James and I hope you have been enjoying it. I've begun to read James in a new light as a result of our times together. He's remarkably blunt, isn't he? He may have been a difficult person to be close friends with. I wonder how you say "tactfulness" in Greek!?

James writes:

"Submit yourselves, then, to God." 4:7a (NIV)

"Surrender to God." 4:7a (CEV)

"So give yourselves completely to God." 4:7a (NCV)

"So humble yourselves before God." 4:7a (NLT)

"So let God work his will in you." 4:7a (The Message)

This is a powerful command to me. I don't mean to use this blog as a means of pushing my own journey onto you, but this idea of surrendering/submitting/giving ourselves completely to God seems near-central when it comes to the spiritual life.

Jesus says in Mark 8:34: "If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me." Surrendering to God is as Jesus says, a discipline of "self-denial". This is as Richard Foster says, "coming to the realization that we do not have to have our own way. Our happiness is not dependant upon getting what we want" (Celebration of Discipline, 99). This practice of self-denial can easily be confused with self-loathing or self-hatred, but it is quite the opposite. In it's most beautiful form, it is a full realization of our intifine worth (having been created in God's likeness) and a deliberate and voluntary choice to put the needs and interests of others (most importantly, God's) before our own.

Submitting to God means that when Jesus' teachings go against the grain of our natural inclination or what our society (and other important influences) say is right, we diliberately and voluntarily trust that Jesus' wisdom is supreme and we chose to obey him rather than our natural inclination. And for anyone who has really wrestled with this (being pulled and strained between Jesus' teaching and your own desires/impulses) as I have, then you know that this can really feel and seem like a denial and death to self as Jesus calls us to. It's not easy. It does take some stength of character and the peace of making that decision is not always immediate.

Here are some questions I'm thinking about. Perhaps you'll want to join me in reflecting:

• Why is it so difficult to fully submit/surrender to God?
• What is one way (ever so small as it might seem) that I can submit/surrender to God today?
• What desire (or temptation) of mine goes against the grain of Jesus' teaching?
• What benefits (short and long term) are there to living in this radical way?

On Sunday, we shared a prayerful experience called Lectio Divina. We used a simplified form of this prayer that has been used for over 1500 years. Would you like to learn more about this and maybe use this prayer in your own devotional life? Click here for more info.

Friends, you are loved! You are also liked! By your Creator and by your friend Josh. Blessings to you as you journey with God.

"Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8