Submit yourselves, then, to God. (James 4:7)
DO YOU ALWAYS follow the rules? Do you obey everything you should?
Proponents of highway safety have long claimed that “speed kills.” While that is possible and can happen, another statement also has validity: “Speeding increases anxiety.”
I realized this truth as an unexpected result of an experiment I conducted to help my wife, children, and myself understand why we should follow all God’s commands. During a relatively long road trip, I chose to drive no more than the speed limit. At the end of the trip what we all noticed was that we could accurately predict our arrival time and that we had an unusually relaxed and enjoyable journey. We knew we were in the will of God and felt closer to him by following the law of the land, and that was comforting. We found the desire to arrive sooner lost its power. Our anxiety was gone. We enjoyed the trip.
Just as reducing our speed contributed to our well-being, how much more peace would we experience if we submitted ourselves to God daily?
As James says, the desires that battle within us, between our will and God’s, are what keep us at a distance from him. James recommends submitting to God, drawing near to him, with the promise that “he will come near to you” (v. 8).
Submit to God every day.
Randall A. Forbes is director of plant operations at Kingswood University. With a flair for the artistic, Randy’s secular life experience contributes to his unique perspective and application of biblical truths.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
