James 4:8 (CSB)
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.
If a person wants God to be close to them, then they have to get close to God first. James 4:6 says, ‘God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble,’ and James 4:7 says, ‘Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ God doesn’t like pride and a proud heart, He likes people to be humble and He gives grace to the humble. So, if we want to get close to God we have to cleanse our hands (turn away from sin) and purify our hearts (devote ourselves to God). We are all guilty of sinning. We have to recognise if we are sinning and repent and ask God to forgive us, but we must not keep sinning afterwards. To be close to God we need to pray, read God’s Word in the Bible, worship God, talk to God and ask Him to guide us in our life. When God sees our changed hearts and sees we are truly sorry for our sins, He will become closer to us. James 4:4 warns us that friendship with the world is hostility toward God, and whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. James was writing to Jewish Christian believers because they were fighting and quarrelling amongst themselves. They were living by the world’s wisdom. Even Christians need to repent at times and move back closer to God. James was the half-brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem church.
Dear God,
If we are guilty of sin, we should repent and ask for your forgiveness. Please guide us God to always do the right thing and to always stay close to you at all times. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
