James 4:8
If you’ve ever been in a relationship, you know that it goes both ways. You also know that if you’re not intentionally putting in the work to seek and know them, that eventually it is going to die. Just like a plant needs watering, so does a relationship. If you’re passive in a relationship, it becomes stale and complacent.
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
We have to remember to seek and know God. When we do, He will draw near to us. He will always meet us where we are at. God does chase after us; like the parable of the lost sheep; God leaves the 99 for the 1. But this verse is highlighting the importance of us actively seeking Him in our relationship. Just like any other relationship, we have to intentionally be chasing after Him. Otherwise, we become apathetic and lazy. We begin to miss out on seeing God do amazing things because we are complacently living. We are just “okay” with how much we know about the Bible. We say our service to others is “good enough.” We claim we’ve been to church “once already this week.” We plead that we prayed “yesterday” and will do it again “later.” We make excuses to stop seeking the Living God.
The rest of this verse talks about practicality. Washing our hands is referencing our actions and purifying our hearts is referencing our motives. Both of these things have to constantly be in check. We can’t just serve more, read our Bible more and pray more; if our intention is to just check it off of our list. In that case, our hearts are not in the right place. But we also can’t just have the desire in our hearts to seek God more intentionally but never put those words into action. These two things go hand-in-hand.
Think about all of your relationships, which one do you put the most work into? Sometimes, we get these all jumbled up. It is so easy to try to put our spouse, kids or close friends into the first place spot of “best relationship.” But God comes first. Then your spouse. Then your kids. Then family, ministry, friendships; and so on and so forth. We should be desperate for the “best relationship” title in our lives to go to Jesus. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
We have to remember to seek and know God. When we do, He will draw near to us. He will always meet us where we are at. God does chase after us; like the parable of the lost sheep; God leaves the 99 for the 1. But this verse is highlighting the importance of us actively seeking Him in our relationship. Just like any other relationship, we have to intentionally be chasing after Him. Otherwise, we become apathetic and lazy. We begin to miss out on seeing God do amazing things because we are complacently living. We are just “okay” with how much we know about the Bible. We say our service to others is “good enough.” We claim we’ve been to church “once already this week.” We plead that we prayed “yesterday” and will do it again “later.” We make excuses to stop seeking the Living God.
The rest of this verse talks about practicality. Washing our hands is referencing our actions and purifying our hearts is referencing our motives. Both of these things have to constantly be in check. We can’t just serve more, read our Bible more and pray more; if our intention is to just check it off of our list. In that case, our hearts are not in the right place. But we also can’t just have the desire in our hearts to seek God more intentionally but never put those words into action. These two things go hand-in-hand.
Think about all of your relationships, which one do you put the most work into? Sometimes, we get these all jumbled up. It is so easy to try to put our spouse, kids or close friends into the first place spot of “best relationship.” But God comes first. Then your spouse. Then your kids. Then family, ministry, friendships; and so on and so forth. We should be desperate for the “best relationship” title in our lives to go to Jesus. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Posted in Devotional