Scripture:
James 4:13-17 ESV
[13] Come 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”— [14] yet 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. [15] Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him, it is sin.
Observation:
James is the half-brother of Jesus. So you can imagine he would have something to say. The letter he wrote was only a few chapters long… 5 in all, but every chapter was full of valuable information and great principles to live by. Here in chapter 4, James looks at the fact that GOD’S will may be different than our ideas of what we are going to do with our lives. One of the reasons I love James’s book so much is because he really pulls no punches. He just lets you have it whether you like it or not. In verses 13 and 14, he starts by saying something to the effect of… I hope you understand you have no idea what GOD is going to do. You might have plans, but GOD is guiding your steps. Verse 14 seems to be one of those verses that can have two parts. After telling us we have no idea what tomorrow brings, James opens our eyes to the fact that life is short. A vapor appears and is gone almost before you know it was there. In verse 15, he brings the perspective that should be held by all who follow Christ. It’s a perspective that is spoken about in the book of Proverbs when it says a man makes his plans, but GOD guides his steps. James is instructing us to submit to the Father and HIS plan because HIS will is whats going to prevail. Verse 16 is the gut punch. At the beginning of this small group of scriptures, James said, “You don’t know what tomorrow brings.” Here in verse 16, he tells us that thinking we do know what the LORD is going to do is arrogant and evil. To wrap it all up. He comes to the real point… just do the next right thing.
Application:
If you had told me 15 years ago, I would be doing what I am today. I would have called you a liar. Because the plans I had for my life were way different from this. I was in the middle of a promising wrestling career, and my eyes were fixed on fame and fortune. That’s where the LORD found me. The plans I had seemed good, but in the end, it would lead to death. However, that did not stop me from the pursuit of it. The enemy had me convinced that success was the key. Making plans and moving forward to accomplish them in my own power and might. Then the day came that my father told me… “I know the plans I have for you, and it’s not what you think it is. You think what you are doing is going to bring prosperity and a future, but it only brings death.” I honestly had no idea I would be where HE has me, and if I had stuck to my plan for my life, I would probably be totally broken down and unable to walk at this point in life. You see, for me, there was no way I could see what HE had planned. Because it is about HIS glory, and I was chasing after my own glory. A man who seeks to glorify himself will be humbled, and a man who seeks to glorify GOD will be exalted. That being said, I know that I do not write these SOAPS, I ask HIM to write them every morning, and honestly, I’m just not smart enough. I dropped out of school in the 9th grade. I couldn’t spell, and darn sure didn’t know how to read much at all. Again, that’s all to HIS glory. Only GOD could take an Illiterate 9th-grade high school dropout who was addicted to drugs and do what HE is doing with me. All I did was submit to HIS plan and agree to give HIM all of HIS glory. My life is none of my business. All I want is to be used by HIM. Everything else is insignificant and unimportant. I want GOD’S will for me, and I hope that’s where you are as well. He has a beautiful plan for you. It’s a plan for your future, and it will give you hope. Just submit to it, and HE will never leave you or forget about you.
Prayer:
Father, you can see so much more than we can. We know that our life is short here on earth, and you are thinking in terms of eternity. That’s a perspective that is hard for us to grasp. Help us to shift our perspective to yours. We just want what you want for us. Allow us to see the next right step and help us to take it. We submit to your will. We know that our own plans have never led to anything good. So we just want to do what your word tells us to. We know that it is impossible to please you without faith. So, let our actions speak to our faith in you. Please lead us every step of the way. Help us to hear your voice and not get confused by the world, and its noise. Keep our eyes fixed on you and understand your will for us. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.