Nothing to lose and more than the world to gain

As true Christians, living life apart from God’s will or doing our own thing should grieve us. If we can do a thing contrary to God’s Word and have no conviction, no grief within us about our actions, then we have to question our closeness to Him. We have to come to terms with that. Are we acting as enemies of God or are we submitted to Him, humble before Him and applying His grace (His power at work within us to do what we could not do on our own) to our lives?

The verses below give a clear directive for how to fix the enmity with God problem that we could so easily stumble into if we are not vigilant with the intentions of our hearts and lives. It establishes the problem then says that by the grace of God we are to submit ourselves to God, to let go of our own plans and purposes and selfish desires and simply follow Him in whatever He is doing, to answer His call, whatever it may be. Then, the devil, the true enemy of God will have to flee from us, losing his sway in our lives. We are to come near to God, to make that step of faith so that He can come near to us to show us how big and capable He truly is. We are to wash our hands of our whole sin situation, laying it at the alter of His grace and then purify our double-minded hearts becoming single and God-minded and focused, caring for what He cares about instead of what the world cares about. We should be grieved at our sin against Him. It is at this point we will know that we are truly humble before Him and at this point that He can lift us back up to where we should have been to begin with, to a place higher and better, of much greater fulfillment than we could get to on our own (GRACE!!!). We truly have nothing to lose and more than the world to gain when we encounter the choice to be near or not to our God and lover of our souls.

“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.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

James 4:4-10 NIV