James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Humility is something we do not see much of in society today.  There is a lot of talk about being proud of whom you are.  Finding value in ourselves is a big thing.

We are all a work in progress, I am no different.  Does James think we should walk around feeling worthless and useless?  I think not!  God will lift us up.

He tells us to draw near to God, cleanse our hands and purify our hearts.  He tells us to mourn and weep and to humble ourselves before the Lord.  God will exalt us.

Regardless of our own self-image, God sees us in truth.  He created us to be his beloved children and on this journey of life that is our task, to live as his children.  So I come to the Lord.  I draw hear to him.  I wash my hands as a sign of seeking cleanliness and ask the Lord to purify my heart once again.

As I pray for my own soul, I lift up the churches around this nation and the world.  I ask the Lord to cleanse them and purify them once more.  I lift up this nation, built with God as the center, and ask him to cleanse us and purify our nation once more.

We all fall short of God’s glory.  James gives us tools to move back into the grace of God.  Humble ourselves before the Lord.

Lord,

Thank you for using us to do your work in the world.  Help us give credit where credit is due.  Keep us becoming something different than you designed us to be, your children.  I pray for people and churches across the world and this nation as well.  Cleanse us, purify us and draw us near to you once again.  I ask all this through Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.