Poor in Spirit-Mourning

Image via WikipediaPoor in Spirit-Mourning

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 4:7-10)

How can you come near to God? James gives five ways; (1) Submit to God(4:7). Yield to his authority and will, control, and be willing to follow him. (2) Resist the devil (4:7). Don’t allow Satan to entice and tempt you. (3) Wash your hands … and purify your hearts (that is, lead a pure life) (4:8). Be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to experience God’s purity. (4) Grieve and mourn and wail in sincere sorrow for your sins (4:9). Don’t be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for what you have done. (5) Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up (4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).

Humbling ourselves means recognizing that our worth comes from God alone. To be humble involves working with his power according to his guidance, not with our own independent effort. Although we do not deserve God’s favor, he reaches out to us in love and gives us worthy and dignity, despite our human shortcomings.