Submit to God & Find Peace - James 4

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction: God’s Desire for Peace in Our Hearts

God has put the desire in each one of our hearts for peace. We long for peace within ourselves and peace in our world, and that deep longing did not come from nowhere. That desire for peace is from God, and Jesus Himself is called the Prince of Peace.

Today, our message is entitled “Submit to God & Find Peace,” and it speaks directly to where we look for peace. In our quest for peace, we often look to external circumstances and assume that change around us will create calm within us. We think that if other people or other things in our life would change, then we would finally experience peace.

God’s Word teaches us that first and foremost, we need peace within, and that peace only comes from God. When you have peace within, outside trouble or turmoil cannot take your peace from you. This inner peace anchors you no matter what storms may arise around you.

Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV) do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

If we are worried or anxious about things in our lives, we do not have peace. This verse in God’s Word is not a suggestion but a command, and it comes with a wonderful promise. God commands us not to worry about anything but to pray about everything.

We are told to replace our worry with prayer, not to manage anxiety but to exchange it. Then the promise from God is that His peace will guard our hearts and minds. That peace stands watch over our inner lives like a soldier protecting what matters most.

Worry and anxiety are like weeds growing in a garden. They look small and inconsequential at first, and it is easy to ignore them. But if they are not dealt with and pulled out, the end result will be the destruction of the garden.

Matthew 13:22 (NIV2011) The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Worry left to grow in your heart will take your peace and choke the life of God right out of your life. There are other sins as well, other weeds that must be pulled from our lives in order to have peace and to bear fruit for God. When we remove the weeds from our hearts and submit to God’s will, we experience profound peace.

The Root of Conflict

James 4:1 (ESV) What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

We must always remember as we go through the book of James that this letter was written to believers in the church. James is addressing conflict among Christians, not people outside the faith. That reality makes his words both uncomfortable and necessary for us to hear.

It seems likely that the answer James was getting from the feuding members was that the problem was always someone else’s fault. James responds by turning the focus inward instead of outward. If you are arguing and fighting with other believers, the problem is within you.

There are passions and ungodly desires inside us that cause conflict between people. These desires are often selfish ambitions, whether the desire is to be in charge or the desire to do nothing at all. When these desires go unchecked, peace becomes impossible.

James 4:2–3 (ESV) You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

When you desire something from someone else and they do not give it to you, anger often follows. James is not necessarily saying that people were literally murdering one another in the church. Jesus taught that when you are angry with someone and hate them in your heart, you have committed the sin of murder.

To covet is to desire something that someone else has, and coveting always leads to conflict. When our desires are focused on what others possess, fighting and quarreling soon follow. The deeper issue is not the object of desire but the heart behind it.

So what is the big problem that these believers had, and that we still have today? The problem is that we look to other people to provide the things we need. We expect people to give us what only God can supply.

James gives us the answer to this problem, and that answer is prayer. When we pray, God promises to meet all our needs. Prayer is a core value in God’s Word and in our church.

If we do not ask God for our needs, we will not receive from Him. Earlier in the book of James, we learned that we must pray in faith in order to receive. Here we learn another requirement for answered prayer, and that requirement is right motives.

If we ask wrongly, simply to satisfy selfish and ungodly desires, God will not answer those prayers. The root of conflict comes from within our hearts, not from the people around us. Peace begins when our hearts are aligned with God.

Pulling the Weeds of Selfish Desire from the Heart

So what are the weeds in the garden of our hearts that need to be pulled? We try to get things we want from other people while giving nothing in return. We try to control others instead of asking God to meet the needs of our lives.

We often fail to discern the difference between our needs and our selfish wants. If we desire something simply because our neighbor has it, we are coveting. God will not answer selfish prayers that are rooted in envy and comparison.

Every prayer we pray should be in Jesus’ name, and that means more than adding words at the end. It means we are praying for what Jesus would want us to have. Those are the prayers that align our hearts with God’s will.

When the weeds of selfish desire are removed from our hearts through repentance, the garden of our heart is filled with peace. God replaces striving with rest and conflict with calm. Peace grows naturally where selfishness has been uprooted.

The Danger of Worldliness

James 4:4 (ESV) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Where do these selfish desires, these weeds in our hearts, come from? They do not come from God; they come from the world. The world refers to unbelieving systems and values that are under the influence of the kingdom of darkness.

The ideas and lies of the world are all around us in increasing measure. They reach us through the internet, television, our phones, and even the people around us. Without discernment, those ideas can quietly take root in our hearts.

If we become friends with the world, James says we make ourselves enemies of God. To be a friend of the world is to allow the world to influence us and plant its weeds in our hearts. This friendship always comes at the cost of spiritual faithfulness.

James 4:5–6 (ESV) Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

The first part of these verses is difficult to interpret, but this is one way to understand them. God has placed a human spirit inside every person, and He desires for our spirit and His Spirit to be united. God has a holy and godly jealousy for His people.

When we become friends or lovers of the world, we commit spiritual adultery. God desires our faithfulness and devotion to Him alone. That faithfulness requires humility rather than pride.

God opposes the proud because proud people believe they can live without Him. God will not help someone who refuses to depend on Him. But God gives grace to the humble, to those who repent of worldliness and turn back to Him.

God’s grace is His wonderful love and forgiveness poured out on His children. In order to walk in God’s peace, we must remove the weeds of worldliness from the garden of our hearts. Peace flourishes where humility and grace abound.

Choosing Faithfulness Over Following the Crowd

The weeds in our hearts often begin with very small seeds of worldliness. The peer pressure to be like everyone else is strong in our world today. Without vigilance, compromise can slowly become normal.

As believers, we are called to courageously stand for the truth in a world full of lies. We must be bold enough to speak against darkness rather than allowing it to creep into our hearts. Light does not blend with darkness; it exposes it.

We must be careful what we watch, what we listen to, and who influences our lives. This does not mean we cannot be friends with unbelievers, because Jesus Himself was a friend of sinners. It does mean we cannot allow worldly values to shape our hearts.

In James’ terminology, we must not get so close to the world that we spiritually commit adultery with it. God calls believers to reject worldliness and to follow Jesus alone. That commitment leads us to our next point.

Submit to God

James 4:7 (ESV) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Rather than submitting ourselves to the world, we are commanded to submit ourselves to God. Submission begins with a willing choice to give God not just part of our lives, but everything. True submission leaves no area untouched.

After submission comes resistance. We are to resist the devil, who is the prince of this dark world. When you resist the devil in Jesus’ name, he has no choice but to flee.

James 4:8–9 (ESV) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Drawing near to God is the next step, and it happens through prayer. We draw near by talking to God, listening to Him, and submitting every plan, resource, and desire to Him. Drawing near means choosing God’s way over our own.

Repentance follows submission and closeness to God. Repentance is turning away from sin and worldliness and choosing to walk God’s way instead. It is not casual or half-hearted, and it is not double-minded.

True repentance is not saying sorry today with plans to sin again tomorrow. Without continual repentance, we cannot remain near to God. A divided heart will always drift away from His presence.

James 4:10 (ESV) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Humility is the key to true repentance and lasting peace. When you humble yourself before the Lord, you acknowledge that He is King and you are His servant. You commit to doing whatever He calls you to do.

When we humble ourselves before Jesus, He lifts us into the life He created us to live. That life is marked by purpose, beauty, and peace growing in the garden of our hearts. Exaltation follows humility every time.

Living a Lifestyle of Submission and Peace

Identify the areas of your life where you need to submit to God. These are often the areas where peace is missing. They are the places where you know you are not following God’s way.

These areas may also reveal where you have become friends with the world. Ask God to show you, and He will faithfully point them out. God always responds to honest and humble prayers.

Resist the devil by telling him to remove his influence from those areas of your life. Draw near to God through daily prayer and through studying His Word. Draw near to God by regularly being involved in your church family.

Repent of the things you are struggling with, and humble yourself before God. Admit that you need Him and His help at all times. These steps are not one-time actions but a way of life.

James outlines a lifestyle that leads to God’s peace. As you grow in submitting your life to God, His peace will increase within you year after year. Deeper submission always results in deeper peace.

Conclusion: A Garden Filled With God’s Peace

Let us think once more about the garden of our hearts. The areas of your life that need to be submitted to God are often filled with weeds. Those weeds must be removed through the actions James has outlined for us.

Our goal is not only to live in God’s peace but also to promote that peace to everyone around us. You can learn to bring peace into the conflicts of your life. You can learn to resist the devil and the lure of worldliness.

You can learn to submit everything you are to God each and every day. When we remove the weeds from our hearts and submit to God’s will, we experience profound peace. That peace transforms both our inner lives and our relationships.

Your heart becomes a beautiful garden where you and God walk and talk together. You will have peace within, and you will become a peacemaker to those around you. This is the life God desires for His people.

📘 Continue the Journey

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