7/29/25 Daily Devotion: What Will You Do With Your Self?

James 4:6-10 - “6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

God opposes the proud.

• God, Creator & Master of all, actively in opposition to the proud!

• Pride is defined as confidence and satisfaction IN ONE’S SELF.

God gives Grace to the humble.

• God, Creator & Master of all, actively supplying His Grace to the humble!

• Humble is defined as not proud or haughty: reflecting, expressing or offered in a spirit of deference or submission.

How do we deny pride and pursue humility? … what we do with our SELF is at the center of God’s answer!

1.Submit our SELF to God.

• God calls us to give our self … ALL OF WHO WE ARE … to Him.

• He calls us to TRUST HIM with our thoughts, our dreams, our hurts, our talents, our weaknesses, our joy, our pain, our past, our trauma, our success, our failure, our desires, our relationships, our families, our careers, our bank accounts, our diets, our recreation, our religion, our future, our personality, our values, our plans, our excuses, our goals, our fears … ALL OF WHO WE ARE presented to Him.

2.Resist the temptation of the enemy.

• God calls us to give all of our self to Him for our protection! … because all temptation to sin involves a pull for us to value our SELF more than we value God.

• Satan and the ways of this world focus his temptations on our SELF in three ways:

  • The desires of the flesh: We want what we want. We want to quickly gratify our desire for pleasure instead of patiently pursuing God’s timing.

  • The desires of the eyes: We want what others have. We exchange God’s prescribed attitudes of Gratitude & Contentment for greed.

  • The pride of life. We want to be god. We value our SELF more than we value God.

When we present our SELF to God, He is Faithful to provide us His Power to defeat the temptations in our life.

• Every time we resist a temptation, we DRAW NEARER TO GOD … we EXPERIENCE HIM in a deeper, more intimate, richer relationship.

What will you do with your SELF today?

• TRUST God with your self?

• REPLACE God with your self?

It's your choice!