If the Lord wills
Today's focusJames warns against confident plans that forget God and invites us to hold our plans humbly: 'If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.'
Read
13Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Reflection
When you look at the year ahead, it is natural to make plans. You might say that "To day or to morrow" you will travel to a certain place, stay for a time, and "buy and sell, and get gain." James does not forbid planning, but he warns you against a heart that forgets God. He reminds you that "ye know not what shall be on the morrow." Your life is "even a vapour" that appears for a moment and then "vanisheth away."
True wisdom is found in holding your future with humility rather than "boastings." Instead of relying on your own confidence, James invites you to place your life in God's hands. He teaches that "ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." This simple phrase acknowledges that every breath and every successful plan is a gift from Him. As you move forward, seek to do the "good" that you know, trusting that your days are sustained by His sovereign will.
AI-written reflection on the passage above. Let Scripture itself be the main thing.
Reflect
Which of your plans for this year do you need to hold more loosely, saying 'if the Lord wills'?
Pray
Father, I bring you my plans and goals for this year. I hold them with open hands. Guide my steps, correct my pride, and help me do the good I know I should do.