The theme for this week in our “Life-Letter from James” is Submission. Throughout the week we’ll be reflecting on the call to submit ourselves to the Lord and His perfect will. Today the emphasis falls on the importance of submitting out of a motivation of humble reverence for the LORD.
Daily Readings: James 4:1-10 and Deuteronomy 8
“Submit to God … Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him.”
James 4:7 and Deuteronomy 8:6
Reverence is such a deep and beautiful word. It originates in the Latin word “revereri” which means “to stand in awe of”. When I think of “reverence” it brings to mind a combination of wide-eyed wonder at the beauty of God, sheer awe at the uncontainable power of God, and heartfelt, instinctive, face-to-the-floor worship in the presence of the perfect holiness of God.
The beautiful words of hymnwriter John S.B. Monsell capture this mood of reverence so well:
“O WORSHIP the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Bow down before Him, His glory proclaim;
With gold of obedience and incense of lowliness,
Kneel and adore Him, the Lord is His name.”
When Christians submit to the Lord, it is first and foremost out of utter reverence for Who God is. We submit to God with loving humility and obedience, because God is worthy of submission. We submit because of His great power, beauty and holiness. We submit because God is God and we are not! May this be true of us today.
Holy Spirit, awaken in me a heart of true reverence for the Living God. Make me mindful of Your presence with me every second of the day so that I may think, speak and act in every moment out of a spirit of true reverence for You, the High and Holy God. Amen.
Dave's Diary 
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