From God's Heart to Mine: James Chapter 3

Sometimes its hard to see past myself. I get so caught up in my own life, my own struggles, my own hardships, my own busy-ness, that I forget about everyone but me, myself, and I.

I had one of those days the other day. Satan was planting little seeds of doubt, greed, and selfishness in my mind and I in turn was letting these untamed thoughts run rampant in my head instead of taking them to God the moment they started.

You know the thoughts I'm talking about. We've all had them. They start with things like:

"I am just too busy right now to help out my friend (insert name here). Doesn't she know I have a million things to do too?"

or maybe

"Well no one helped me when I went through the same thing, so why should I give up my time to help them?"

(ugh that last one just gets me....and really shows how many lies fill our head when we don't continually give the stuff satan tries to fill our heads with, to God)

Do you recognize either of those? Maybe you have your own selfish thoughts in your head that will require a little clean up?

As I struggled through these thoughts and tried to justify my way of thinking, I finally reached for my bible (which I should have done in the first place) and opened up the book of James.

James 3:13-18 says:

^"13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

To hear the words earthly, unspiritual, and demonic being used to describe my current state of mind was a slap in the face. Each are things I strive to run from, not toward. It was only in that moment that I reached for the word of God and he let me face the cold hard truth in his loving and gentle way that I finally felt my insides give a bit and realize how wrong my bitterness and selfishness really were. That none of my feelings were justified at all. That these feelings, according to this passage are never justified.

So how about you? Do you struggle with these same feelings sometimes? Friends we must run this race together and spur one another on to not let these feelings overtake us, but again and again take them to the cross and lay them at Jesus feet where they belong. His desire is for our hearts to look more and more like his, and he cannot do a good work in us if we continue to let Satan distract us from His will. He will give you strength, just ask him...

Philippians 1:6

^"6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

One of the hardest things to understand sometimes in life is that God doesn't promise comfort. Some people mistake lack of comfort for lack of God's presence. I can tell you that God has asked me to do many uncomfortable things. The last 10 months being one of the hardest of them all in my entire life, and yet I know, standing here on the other side that He called me to this. That had he not brought me through the refining process of the hardships of the last 10 months, that I wouldn't have learned half of the stuff He taught me had I gotten to skip it and it is in that alone that I sing His praise. He is a good God. He is faithful and he alone will sustain me forever and ever.

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

So what about your heart? Are there sometimes seeds of ungodly selfishness and bitterness harboring there? Take them to the cross and let God's grace wash them away. Use these moments even in the busy-ness of your own life to set yourself aside and be used by God to serve another.