Future Plans


James 4:13-17
13Come 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”—
14yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
16As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Whenever there is a trip to go on or an event to plan, I’m always the one who gets to make the reservations and lay out the path we’re going to take. I love finding the best hotel or restaurant. Looking at the maps and finding the best route is interesting and planning what to do along the way is fun. By the time it comes to executing the plan, I’m usually done with the project and ready to move on to something else. The fun definitely lies in the planning! Years ago, when the plans fell apart, or didn’t meet my expectations I was disappointed and often angry. Now that I’m old, I’m over that. Too many of my well laid plans fell to ashes and along the way I learned that my sense of control is an illusion.

James speaks about just such a mind set in these closing verses of chapter 4. Sometimes we arrogantly assume that all of our well laid plans are going to bear the fruit we hope for and when that doesn’t happen, we are unhappy. In all likelihood, James is speaking to the businessmen in the church who boast with pride about what big plans they are going to bring together in the future. (One cannot help but notice that the tongue is once again the big culprit here!) But the admonition certainly doesn’t apply only to the business world.

Back in college, I was working the perfect plan. My goal of becoming a DCE (Director of Christian Education) was easily within reach and I was going to become the best in the business. My future was all sewed up. Then God introduced me to Cliff, a future pastor. Becoming a pastor’s wife was absolutely not in my life-plan. It was in fact a deal breaker. Typically, DCEs didn’t marry pastors because it meant the end of their career. God had a completely different plan for me. Hindsight is of course 20/20. Looking back I can see that had I followed my plan I would have missed out on my beautiful daughters and incredible grandchildren. I would have missed out on 35 years of marriage (so far) to the perfect husband for me. And I would have missed out on the exquisite ministry that comes with being the pastor’s wife. My plan was far less than what God had planned for me.

James’ warning is well taken. Holding out to see what God has planned is a far better option for He always means us well. Arrogantly boast about our own measly plans is foolish and those words are best left unspoken.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more