Reconnecting With God

We often move away from God without noticing it. Let us return to Him, approach Him and reconnect with Him. God always wants us to be in close fellowship with Him, since the days of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Our sins keep moving us from Him. We often withdraw ourselves from Him in our mind (our thoughts), in our hearts (our desires), and by the things we do (our hands). That is the call and the emphasis in James 4:8-10. We limit our progress when we are not close to Him, and we actually feel disconnected.

Pride is one of our greatest enemies, and shows its head as a result of the things God has done for us. Yet, when, instead of being deeply grateful and humble we begin to feel superior. When our ego begins to be inflated, God Himself pushes us away. God resists the proud, and He gives grace to the humble (see James 4:6).

The first thing we need to do on our journey of restoration is to come to God in humility and submit to Him. Pride is such an enemy and inspired by the devil that we are admonished to ‘resist the devil’ in James 4:7, referring to the pride. Without this important step, we cannot draw near to God. Neither can He draw near to us.

RECONNECTING WITH GOD

We reconnect with God in our mind and in our hearts. Becoming intentional about what goes through your mind is a good place to start. You cannot allow just any thoughts to go through your mind. It is too dangerous to do that. When your thoughts are full of other things, you cannot even pray clearly. And you cannot be settled and at peace. Peace and joy will elude you. You may read the Bible but it will not have room to stay in your thoughts and remain in your mind. That state is a very difficult place to be in.

James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." God always wants us close to Him. The challenge has always been our own state of mind, which is defined by our spiritual state. It happens when blessings from God begins to make us proud, when our sins make us hide from Him, when we make all manner of attempts to get close to God in a mechanical way and find that it is not working. And yes, it will never work. When we feel exposed because of our sins and try to cover our nakedness with man-made solutions, it does not work. These states are dangerous as it pushes us into actions that do not glorify God.

This is the reason for the call James 4:8. We cannot draw near to God in our sinfulness. The first logical thing to do is to stop the things that defile us and push us away from God; things we DO with our hands. “Cleanse your hands” is a call to intentionally discontinue doing things we know do not please God. This step empowers us to realign our actions to the will of God. Do this to the point where you and God are in agreement about what you do, what you touch, and what you handle. A number of things come into mind including the way you handle your phone – how, when, how frequent, what you type on it, and what you scroll to see more of. “Cleanse your hands”. Though you need the inner strength to discontinue these actions, you have the responsibility to stop them. No one can do that for you. God will give you the strength, but you must do the hard work. The moment you stop handling and touching what is sinful, you can move further and begin deal with the filth within.

“Purify your hearts”, you “double-minded”. You cannot be connected to God when your heart is not connected to Him. Connecting to God is a matter of the heart. The only way the heart can change is through committing to focusing on the Word of God and coupling it with intense prayer.

Drawing close to God is the cure for double-mindedness. And the day you deal with double-mindedness, your prayer will take on a different level of potency. Answered prayer will become common place in your life and spiritual experience. Besides, you will discover that humility is your road to success. You become bold without being proud. And your impact in drawing others to God becomes immeasurable. You become a gen in society.

DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS

To be double-minded is to be far from God. It is the result of doubting Him. We are single-minded when we trust God fully. When you pray, you will be wondering whether God will do it or not. Rightly so because, when you are not sure what God wants, you cannot be sure that He will answer your prayers.