Daily Surrender
What does it mean to be humble in our relationship with God?
There are three things that the apostle James mentions that can help us: submit to God, resist the devil, and draw near to God.
Submit to God.
Submitting to God means coming under His authority. Rather than living according to our own desires and ways of living, we should submit those things to God and live according to His desires and standards.
In order to truly submit to God, we must first recognize that His ways are better than ours. We must recognize that He knows better than we do. We must also believe that He has our best intentions in mind. He cares for us.
Resist the devil.
The devil desires to keep us from our relationship with God and cause us to stray from God. When we resist him by God’s strength, he will flee from us.
Draw near to God.
The best way to submit to God and resist the devil is to draw close to God in our relationship with Him. Not only does He promise to draw close to us, but He will also give us strength and grace to endure every trial.
Take a moment to think about your own life. Are there parts of your life or plans that you haven’t surrendered to God? Every day is a new opportunity to submit ourselves to God and to draw near to Him. So right now, think of ways you can make these things part of your daily habits.
Grace and Truth in Jesus
For centuries, the nation of Israel awaited the coming Messiah who would bring the Kingdom of God and make things right in the world. Despite pain, persecution, and setbacks, they persevered because their hope was grounded in the promises of God.
Israel’s wait was finally over when the Messiah, Jesus, arrived. However, Jesus did not come as many expected—in a grand procession or with a large army behind Him. Instead, He arrived quietly in the stillness of the night, as a baby, in a little town called Bethlehem.
But in a surprise twist, this newborn was not only the Messiah who would free God’s people from their sins, but God Himself. John tells us that “the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word exists eternally, but for a time took on human form and lived among people.
Jesus began His earthly ministry in the most humble way—by coming as a baby. But it’s through the person of Jesus that we see the glory of God. Paul says in Colossians, “For in Christ all ...