"The moments when I truly live are the moments when I act with my whole will."
The moment that I live out what Christ has put in, living out everything that He is in me, then I live!
Oswald Chambers talks about human will as if it is a separate force, something that you and I can generate on our own.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
"Thy will be done," is a literal appeal. Jesus Christ in us, the Hope of Glory, is the same one who leads us to do all things. We walk in the Holy Spirit, and He leads us to practice all righteousness.
Context is key when evaluating the full import of certain scriptures:
"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." — James 4:8
James was one of the apostles called to minister directly to the Jews. Even the salutation in his general is directed to them:
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." (James 1:1)
Yet throughout his letter, despite the rhetoric which consistently appears to emphasize works as opposed to faith, James never deviates from the Gospel of Grace.
"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." — James 4:8 It would appear that we would have to come to God on our own, but Paul writes explicitly that God came to us:
And John, another apostle who ministered specifically to the Jews, makes the same point ih His own Gospel:
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
Paul cannot write it any more plainly about God's irresistible desire for us:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Jesus came to us with grace and truth — we do not have to strive to attain Him.
Then what does James mean, "to draw nigh" to God? This is a Hebraism, as God would call on His people to draw nigh to Him in faith!
Jewish phrases notwithstanding, David the Partriach asked for God to draw nigh to him:
"Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies." (Psalm 69:18)
In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews explains very clearly to another audience of Jews that only through the grace of God through Jesus Christ are we able to draw nigh to God:
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)
We enter "boldly" — how? By faith in the grace of God, by which we know we have everlasting redemption from sin.
Therefore, when James writes to his first audience to "draw nigh", he is not speaking of works, but of faith! We are to draw nigh unto God in faith, knowing that he already receives us and wants to believe in us as much as we believe in His grace.
In effect, our "drawing nigh" is one grand reception through faith, not a result of an overt act.