Devotional: Daily Surrender: James 4:7

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.