Dancing With God

Friday is here! So you've got some plans for a fun weekend, I hope! Make it a great one by letting God speak into your life today. That's what I doing right now, reading from the Bible in James 4:6-12.

Life with God is a dance. But sometimes we get out of step and get our toes stepped on. This text is about having the right attitude towards God, understanding that there is a God and I am not him. That's pretty important to realize in life. Otherwise, I'll be prideful, judgmental and think I have the right to do whatever I want, answering to no one. It's an illusion that many people manage to maintain, but it always ends up with a rude awakening. That human arrogance just makes it impossible to have a harmonious relationship with God.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves, then to God.... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (v. 6-7, 10)

Hopes and dreams are the fuel of life. So what do you do when your dreams don't materialize? I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel disappointed with God. We live with certain expectations that if we do certain things that God is going to reciprocate by allowing us to reach our goals and bring our dreams to life. And sometimes that's exactly what happens. But then there are the other times. The failures, or perceived failures. The disappointments. The unmet goals. The desires we can't attain. The precious things or people that we lose.

What God is saying I need most in those times is a humble attitude before him. I need to submit myself to his sovereign rule, to remember that he is God and I am not. I may not understand the reasons, but God has something else or another time in mind. Living by faith means that I really entrust my life to God. I am willing to accept his will. Then we can dance!

It's not exactly easy. Sometimes I get in resistance mode. But he reminds me it's the devil I need to be resisting (v. 7), the sworn enemy of the human race. If I have a humble and yielded heart before God, I'm going to stay close to him even through those disappointments. And he loves to exalt people who recognize his right to rule! He pours out his undeserved favor (grace) on the humble, not the proud, and lifts them up to set them on the peaks. Sooner or later, an attitude of understanding the reality of God over all brings all the rewards of Heaven. To dance with God I've got to let him lead.

Father, I yield my will to yours, my plans to yours, my dreams for my life to your dreams for me. Deep inside I trust that your plans are always better than my own, anyway. I believe that you will lift me up and show me your amazing grace. This dance is yours, so take the lead! Amen.

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