How Do I Experience More of God's Mega Grace?
Are you in need of God's grace today? If so, try the route of humility.
Do you sense your need for God's grace? Some days, I feel this need so acutely, and it's the days I don't that concern me most.
Brother Lawrence said, "The higher the spiritual state to which a soul aspires, the more it is dependent on grace." The closer we draw to God, the more like him we want to become, the more we must lean into his grace.
These first five words of James 4:6 are some of the most encouraging ones you will ever hear: “But he gives greater grace.” The Greek word for "greater" is “megas” and is where we get the English prefix mega. It is grace that is extraordinary and extravagant. We could call it "mega-grace."
This is what God offers to everyone who is humble before him. But to those who are proud, God resists and wars against them.
Submit and Resist
Following this encouraging yet sobering intro, James goes on to list ten imperative Greek commands, each of which emphasizes the seriousness of the spiritual battle we face.
First, James says to submit to God. Just as a losing general would submit to their opponent in battle, so we are called to stop fighting and surrender to God. He must have control.
James adds that we are to resist the devil. This resistance is both offensive and defensive. But it can only happen after submitting to God.[1]
Draw Near
As we resist the devil in the power of God’s might, the grand invitation to draw near to God can be realized.
Picture a child who runs to you with their arms open wide for a hug. It’s impossible to resist. They come close to you, and your natural instinct is to draw close to them.
But like the toddler who comes running to their parents, many times there is dirt on their clothes, a messy diaper waiting to explode, or snot running down their nose (a reality I experienced just minutes before writing this!).
As they grow, they notice this. It is “yucky.” What they also realize is that they cannot be clean on their own. They need their mommy or daddy to give them a bath, get them a tissue, or change their diaper.
So when James says, "Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded," he is not saying, “Clean yourself up and then God will accept you.” No, cleansing and purifying only happen as we draw near to God and he draws near to us.
