Missing the Key Ingredient

Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted , and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. James 5:8-10 (KJV)

How often I have approached God with my sin and gotten no farther than merely confessing it. I would admit what I had done, agree with God that it was wrong, ask His forgiveness, and walk away feeling like the child who had just had a meeting with the principal concerning classroom misconduct. I struggled to sense forgiveness and acceptance. But I also found I walked away unchanged. What was missing? The entire middle section of this passage.

I often saw my sin and need of cleansing but failed to possess the affliction, mourning, and weeping. To see my own wretchedness and be broken over it to the same extent that God is grieved over it. For any who have sat under harsh, rigid, and legalistic teaching this whole topic only appears to be an invitation to shame and condemnation. We struggle to see God in any way other than the way He was when He appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai to give the Ten Commandments. It is foreign to see Him as the father of the returning prodigal. Watching and waiting and then embracing with open arms.

God’s response when I draw near to Him is that He draws near to me. When I humble myself before Him, He lifts me up! But part of the drawing near and humbling myself is found in seeing the seriousness and wretchedness of my sin. It involves being honest with myself and with God. No excuses, no blaming of others, no avoidance of the real issues.

This will be hard and nearly impossible if I see God with a scowl on His face, arms folded, cold, detached, unapproachable, and distant. Freedom comes when I approach Him with sorrow and brokenness and see Him as loving, accepting, and forgiving. It starts with honesty, transparency, and openness. God already tells me how the meeting will end and that in itself should help me to approach Him with genuine confession and repentance.

Father, I am still in the process of learning these truths. You teach me with such persistence, patience, and gentleness. Thank You that while You condemn my sin You love and accept me! Amen.