I am presently continuing through James chapter 4 in my “Beatitudinal Prayers for a Narcissist” theme.[1] I had a too-soon-old-too-late-shmart experience this morning because I set my alarm for later than usual since it is a holiday (Canadian Thanksgiving), but I forgot to turn off my workday alarm, which meant I got up at my usual time! Anyway, once I settled in at my desk for prayer-journaling, I wondered what God had in mind that maybe needed the extra time. Let’s just say that I was NOT disappointed (again)!
This is the next section in James 4 I am praying through:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— (vs 13)
“Come now” means that the thing James is addressing is a reproof. He is pointing his spotlight on something that at least some of the Christians were doing wrong. I believe this continues the theme of pride James is dealing with, where he is now drawing our attention to prideful planning, or prideful thinking about how we use our time.
If we understand the Beatitudes, and how to pray through them, we will be able to receive this reproof with a sense of, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Even if we feel grief that we have really blown it in this area, we can come to God with the faith of, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” We can receive God’s convicting work bringing us to the end of our way of doing things and to the start of surrendering to the authority of Jesus Christ in this area as we accept, “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” And, as we fully accept anything God is showing us that is wrong in our lives, we can rejoice in the promise that, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
What I realized this morning was that, in this one partial sentence, James addresses how we think about:
·
Time: “today or tomorrow”
·
Location: “such and such a town”
·
Duration: “spend a year there”
·
Activity: “trade”
· Result: “make a profit”
Let’s just say that I may be camped here a bit longer than expected, first considering what God is doing in me about it, and then how I am to pray Beatitudinally for our church, for others who are influenced by our church, and particularly the narcissists who can never accept a healthy shame message regarding something they are genuinely doing wrong.
For now, I feel as though God is clearly teaching me something at a much deeper and clearer level within me. He is reproving/rebuking me by first leading me to see my wrong thinking and acting in this area. He is correcting me by showing me what the right thinking and acting look like. And he is training me in righteousness[2] so that I am making progress in my transformation into “the same image” as the Lord Jesus Christ “from one degree of glory to another.”[3]
As I became aware of what God was doing with this, I also realized it felt very safe and good to receive a healthy shame message regarding the five things James addresses in this verse. Even though God is putting me under his microscope and is not going to let me get away with anything, I feel like a beloved child who is receiving a lesson with more interest in attachment to Father than to “getting it” about the lesson and knowing how to do the right thing.
The bottom line so far is that this is about who is “Lord” over my time, location, duration, activities, and results. I am just now addressing this in my grief over a horrible loss of this year, that this is another dimension of accepting Jesus’ lordship over what happened. But it also seems that God wants me to receive something so kingdom-minded about this that the result will be that I have genuinely changed my mind regarding a wrong way of thinking and have a firm grasp on how to be the righteous who lives by faith in the area James addresses.
Although there will be many lessons in this place, I am very
sure that my answer is “Yes, Lord!” and that I am quite delighted to see
the transformation that continues in my life as I make progress in our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.[4]
© 2022
Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the
English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text
Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.)
[1]
Beatitudinal Prayer is praying for ourselves and others based on the Beatitudes
Jesus presented (Matthew 5:1-12) to introduce his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
5-7).
[2]
As per II Timothy 3:16-17 ~ “All Scripture is breathed out by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good
work.”
[3]
II Corinthians 3:18
[4]
I have long been encouraged with Paul’s instruction to Timothy to, “practice
these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress (not
‘perfection’)” (I Timothy 4:15).
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