March 15 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 74—James 4:6–10

⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 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.

Devotional:

In this text, God first reveals what makes up friendship with the world—4:1–5. Then he takes the faults one after another in 4:6–5:6 and he calls you to fight to rid your life of worldliness. But as he commands you to fight this good fight, look at the wonderful way he starts—"but he gives more grace" (v. 6). That has to be one of the most comforting verses in the Bible. If you are resting in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, then whatever you might lose when you put self instead of God at the center of your life, you can never lose your salvation—"he gives more grace." Your salvation does not depend upon yourself. And so you cannot threaten it in the ultimate sense even by your sinful self-centeredness. Why not? Because "he gives more grace." Even when you grieve the Holy Spirit and break the heart of God, his response is that "he gives more grace."

As a result, getting rid of the blemishes of the world is not merely an exercise in you reforming yourself and turning over a new leaf. God offers his grace for you to receive both his forgiveness for failure and his enabling for success. And how do you receive God’s grace? Through the means of grace—God’s ordinances, especially the Word, the sacraments, and prayer. Therefore, diligently use the means of grace.

How wonderful that "he gives more grace"! Even if you say, "Lord, you haven't given me enough grace to clean up my act," God will reply, "Well then, you may have more grace." Even if you admit, "Lord, actually you've given me more than enough grace. But I've squandered it all. I'm not worthy to be called your child," God will reply, "Well then, you may have more grace." He never runs out of resources. He never runs out of patience. He never lets up. He never lets down. He never lets go. "But he gives more grace."

"Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."

Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.