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 has such a wonderful way of eliminating all the stuff that gets in the way. In chapter 4, he brings our ignorance to the front of our attention. By clearly telling us we don’t really know what GOD is going to do. He lets us know that although we may make plans, GOD has the final say. His specific words are…” Come now,” in other words… come on, do you really think that you know what GOD has planned for you? In verse 14, he not only reminds us how little we know about what GOD is doing, but he also explains how small a part of it we are. In the grand scheme of things, our lives are very short, and we don’t have a lot of time to accomplish much. I believe the idea behind where James is going with all this is that we need to be fully submitted to GOD’S plan and HIS will for our lives. Knowing that our understanding is very limited, especially in GOD’S perspective. HE sees 30 years from now, and we don’t even truly know what tomorrow may bring. Verses 16-17 are the gut punch. It seems that with the way James writes, you can always expect him to have a good solid point to what he is saying. Arrogance and boasting in what we truly have no idea about is very prideful. James helps us to see that these things can keep us from doing the right thing… because we think we have a plan…his statement is that if you know the right thing to do and decide not to, then it is sin.
Application:
If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be doing what I am today, I would have laughed at you. I had my life all planned out. It included a career on TV. With WWE, an abundance of money fame and fortune. That was what I had in mind for my future. But GOD had something else in mind, and honestly, I’m grateful that HE did. I get to see things in life that had I chased that career. Who knows if I would even be able to walk today? My prideful arrogance would have destroyed me. Today, I live an entirely different life than the one I had planned. My concerns are bigger than me now. I remember hearing the call to full-time ministry shortly after I submitted my life to Christ. It was the right thing to do, and I knew it. The crazy thing is that fear kept me from stepping into the calling that GOD had placed on my life… and a few more years of running from HIM were not necessary, but because HIS plan looked different than what I thought I was capable of, I went my way instead. Only to experience a lot more heartache and pain. I came to full submission to HIS plan about 7 years ago when I realized HE was not going to leave me alone about it, and I could continue trying to make something work that was just going to leave me broken or I could submit to HIM and live a life beyond my wildest dreams. Today, GOD has turned my life into a full-time ministry. Do I stand behind a pulpit… no, but I preach every morning through these SOAPS and other avenues. My point in telling you guys all this is not to build myself up by any means. Because if you looked at my life prior to Jesus, all you would see is a train wreck. My point is my life is not my own…and GOD’S plan for you is way better than your plan for you… you have no idea what the future holds. If you are one of those who is still unsure of what a fully submitted life looks like, and you’re fearful of just diving in. Let me reassure you that GOD’S plan is better than yours. It may not be comfortable, but it will bring no harm it may not seem profitable… but your treasures won’t be stored here on earth. It may go against human understanding… but our understanding is so limited, and HE is Infinite. You can’t see tomorrow, but HE sees generations that you will never lay eyes on until we all get to heaven. You have no idea what a fully submitted life can do for not only your future but for your great great great great great grandchildren. Your plans are limited to what you can see, and HIS plans include not only the beginning of time but the end of it as well. We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. Jump in and allow HIM to lead everything about you. You won’t regret any of it.
Prayer:
Father, we know that we see into a clouded mirror. All we can see is a dim reflection of who we think we are. You see it all. Help us to truly understand what that means. We never want to approach you with our plans. We honestly want to be submitted to yours. Our ways only lead to dead ends. But your way leads to eternal life. We know that the path to that is very narrow… but we are asking that you place our feet on that narrow path. We do not want to spend eternity without you. We know that your plan is so much better than ours. But we also know that you will only show us the very next step. We are asking that you do that. We just want to know where to place our foot so that it will have something solid to land on. Our lives are yours… and we want to live wholly submitted to you. So, right now, as we read this prayer… we surrender. It’s not about us anymore. You are our LORD and our king. Forgive our failures and help us stop running if we are. We know that you have paid it all. So here we are send us. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen3 a