"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.
Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."
James 4:7-10

Submit, resist, draw near, cleanse, purify, lament, mourn, weep, turn, humble yourself. These are commands and they are all found in the above four short verses.

The 'therefore' refers to verses 1-6 that speaks of those who belong to God but want to be a friend of the world. James is telling us that faith produces humility, and that things feed a prideful nature. He tells us in verse 6, "...God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble"

Then comes the 'therefore' and the command to action that routs out the sinful attitude of pride:
'Submit to God.'
The verses of Scripture that come to mind here is Jesus speaking in Matthew 6:22-24, "The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Where is the eye focused? Is it on God or is there a desire for the things of the world? The eye takes us right to the center of our being. Are we committed to God or to self?
The Apostle John tells us of Jesus,
"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." John 1:4

Outside of Christ, and our obedience to Him, there is darkness. Pride and humility do not mix! Where is our focus? There is such a pull of the world on people today even those who belong to Christ. Therefore the words of James 4 are a constant reminder to be alert to the wiles of the prince of this world.
'Resist the devil and he will flee from you.'
The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11-12, "Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness..."

The Apostle Peter warns us in 1 Peter 5:8-9, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But resist him, firm in your faith..."

Satan is a defeated foe! When we submit, and fully yield ourselves to Christ, the devil has no foothold and therefore must flee. But if we leave him an opening he will seize the opportunity to draw us off holy ground!
When we are off holy ground we are vulnerable to evil.

James 1:14-16 has something to say concerning this:
"But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren."

In all humility let us submit ourselves wholly unto God! Faithfully we look to Him in all things. If we see that all things come from the hand of God whether they seem good or not so good, that leaves no place for the devil and his evil ways. Remember Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
(My emphasis)

Thank You, Father! Hallelujah and Amen.