Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Let you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:13-17
I have had many plans get delayed, modified, or outright cancelled these days. Thankfully, some are still on track! Have you ever started to boast a bit about something good in the future, only to have to ‘eat your words’? I have.
When plans fail to come to fruition, I need to check myself and my attitude when I am experiencing disproportionate disappointment. I think we should make lots of great plans, but be very careful about boasting too much in our ability to carry them out. Rather, to say “if the Lord wills”, and actually mean it- would be far better for the world we currently live in. I know someone who planned a wedding for a year, only to have to cancel within a month of the ceremony. Yet, because they trust in the Lord and are humble, their disappointment is great, proper, but not debilitating at all. Too much focus and bragging about the future can actually be evil.
Am I here, in the present, being who God wants me to be? How have I balanced plans for the future with the realization that the Lord establishes them?
God, as this Palm Sunday begins- I praise You that You keep Your promises. Of that I can be certain. Today, I subject my plans to Your will. I will pray, prepare and purse godly plans, knowing that You may say no, yes or wait. In that I will be content.
