Keeping calm in conflicts
Key Verses: 3, 7, 11,
14, 17
Prayer
requests can be tricky things. It can be hard to know the motives behind the
request, even with our own requests. We pray for finances, but we are unwilling
to be disciplined in our spending. We pray for our health, but we live our life
with no thought to the consequences. What are our motives when we ask in
prayer?
It is
hard to be truly humble. It is easy to think we arrived where we are by our own
energy and determination. But notice James’ sharp language. He says those who
have a close connection to this world are committing adultery against God (God
being their true spouse). God wants our total commitment. No weekend
worshippers will do. This is a spiritual battle, not an earthly one. The
spiritual forces of Satan are involved, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
If we
resist Satan’s wooing and move toward the Lord, or should I say rush headlong
to the Lord, then God is able to lift us up. But too often we put ourselves in
God’s place. James’ example of speaking against a fellow believer shows how
seriously we need to submit to the Lord and resist the devil. When we put
someone else down with an insult or pointed remark, we are judging them. We are
lifting ourselves up. Only God can lift us up.
Even the
planning of our future here on earth can slip over into pride. Anything that
runs independent of the Lord in our lives needs to be brought back into
submission. This does not mean we don’t plan. It does mean that our plans are
constantly placed on God’s altar, and we are ready to drop them all at a
moment’s notice to obey.
When
keeping our plans means departing from God’s plans, then we are off track in
our lives. Big and small, all plans are open to God’s cancelation. It is much
better when we listen in to God’s plans and adopt them as our own. Then we know
that they won’t change. That is submitting to God.