God's given us a promise: If we humble ourselves, then He'll lift us up. James 4:10, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you." If we admit our sins, then He'll help us!

Oh, what a glorious God! Oh, how sweet He is! Oh, the pleasure of forgiveness and strength! Oh, how delightful it is to serve God from the inside by the power of the Spirit. Oh, the sweet submission… the delightful confidence… and all of this given to the sinner who confesses his sins! James 4:9, "Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow."

He mourns, weeps, and sorrows to a Forgiving God who delights to show mercy! Naked, he comes to Him for clothing. Hungry, he comes for plenteous bread. He comes and gets help! (We disparage the character of God, rather than magnifying His goodness, when we make Him hard, cruel, and indifferent. We misconstrue Him, as if He doesn't provide!)

Oh, let us love Him. Come, let us adore Him! Let God be magnified: He LIFTS UP the humble!

Secondly, don't judge your neighbor! James 4:12, "There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?"

Let us lift him up, rather than cast him down. Let's find a way to pray for him. Let's correct him, but in love. Let's not despise him for his sinfulness. Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.”

We'd win more people, if we loved them. Oh, how our preaching would improve! Oh, how we'd be different, and God would be in our hearts. We'd have His peace, rather than bitterness… His love, rather than self righteous pride. Matthew 7:5, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” We'd be more like Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us. We'd be more like God who sent Him.

"Teach us to love," is our petition! Let us not be judges but doers of the law! James 4:11, “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.”

Finally, it's wrong for us to boast, as if we're in control. James 4:13-16, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

God rules this world. We live here for a little time, like a puff of smoke or a vapor of air. You blow it out, and then it's gone, never to be seen or remembered. We are insignificant nothings compared to God. We control nothing. Let's not be practical atheists!

Always acknowledge His sovereignty. Plan in submission. Don't say, "I will marry and do this or that." You don't know if you will marry a sick person with undetected cancer. You don't know if an accident is waiting to happen, which is an act of God's government. So much heartache is because we planned the future and complained when God said, "No." So much hardship is thinking we're in charge!