So many of God's promises are conditional upon our obedience. James 4, verses 6-8, are an encouragement to submit to God and be humble before Him. There is power in your obedience and humility. ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.'
We as believers must resist the devil. Don't give way to him. It reminds me of a time when I was in Ukraine. In 1998, gunmen came to attack me, to prevent me from preaching the Gospel. But I fought for my life, I resisted them, and they turned the gun away. It is the same principle spiritually. Resist the devil. Resist the temptation. As you resist, the promise is, the devil will flee. But you are not doing this alone, as you humble yourself before God, He will give you His grace. We see this in the Gospels. Jesus resisted the devil in the wilderness, and after He was tempted, angels came and ministered to Him. When you resist the devil by drawing near to God, He will draw near to you.
'Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up (v10).' Be humble before the Lord, esteem others, don't speak evil of one another. Allow God to lift you up. Promotion comes from the Lord.
In verses 13-15, James says, ‘Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’’ Don’t boast or brag about what you will do with you life, the plans and ambitions you have; submit all that you are into the Hands of God, and He will direct your steps. If we humble ourselves before the Lord, submitting to His plans and purposes, then He will ensure you fulfil your destiny. After all, this is what Proverbs promises, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.’
Through patience we inherit the promises. ‘Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.’ (James 5:7-8.) Be patient for the Lord’s return, just as a farmer is patient, waiting for his crop. I believe the prophecies of Joel 2, the former and the latter rain, relate to the End Times; how the Church was born on the Day of Pentecost, and this is how it should end at the return of Christ, with a second outpouring of the Spirit. We must be patient and faithful until the end. This farmer analogy reminds me of the parable Jesus told of the tares and the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30). The two must grow together, otherwise the wheat would be damaged. This is the Church today. We cannot change God’s Word. We cannot add to it, or take away from it. Nor must we change its meaning and interpretation. Some have become unfaithful to the Word, believing lies and advocating things contrary to God’s Word. But we must be like the wheat; faithful to Jesus until He returns.