September 07, 2022 – Wednesday
James 4:13-15 NIV
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
Comment
Sticking with James for a few more days as some of what he says is very insightful. The above verses add depth to what Jesus had to say in Matthew 6:25-27, 25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And then in 6:34, 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
James seems to expand on this a bit, showing first how pointless it is to plan for tomorrow, 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. But his point is clear, planning without involving the LORD is futile. James then provides very specific instruction on how to plan, 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” Doing this with a sincere heart can cause one to reexamine plans to see if they honor and glorify God. Something we should always take into consideration.
James seems to find it offensive to do such planning without involving the LORD especially when the purpose is to make money with no other consideration as he said in 4:13, 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” When we are simply chasing after money we seldom if ever involve the LORD as the money often times becomes an idol we are chasing after. Nothing wrong with making more money, but how did you go about making it? Honorably while honoring God? What are your plans for the extra money you hope to obtain? Buy more material things? Or to help out your family, immediate and extended? Your plans will tell a lot and especially about whether you involved the LORD in your planning. Did you n any way say, If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.
Bottom Line: The LORD’s will, will be done. Are we doing our best in our plans to be in His will?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for James added instructions and advice on how to go about making plans for our future. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek