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40 DAYS OF LENT: DAY #36 – Holy Tuesday
WORD OF TODAY: James 4:7-10 (ESV)
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
THOUGHTS ON THE WORD:
There are many among us who enjoy the wealth of this world, laughing in the temporal excitement and happiness found in sin. We all know the drug addict did not begin with an intent and knowledge of the place the drug would take them when they first experienced that high. We all know the alcoholic did not desire from that first sip to be beholden to the bottle more than spouse, job, children, or parents and friends.
No, the drug addict did not think they would be homeless and penniless on the street doing anything for that next fix, nor did the alcoholic. Submitting ourselves to anything other than God will be our ruin. When we submit ourselves to God, we do resist the devil and in God’s presence the devil will flee. We are wise to draw near to God by submitting ourselves to God, and we are promised he will draw near to us. The laughter of the evil world will end, either through our repentance and amendment of life given to God in Christ Jesus or our reward has been received by the gift of the world where suffering will be forever. Our worldly laughter is turned to mourning when we turn to God. Convicted of sin, we find gloom in what the sin has guided us to become, like the drug does to the addict and the drink does to the alcoholic.
Will you submit your whole self to God? Christian, let it turn to sorrow as you submit yourself to God and in Him you will be exalted instead of ruined.