“If the Lord Wills"

“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”— 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. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15 ESV)

Our tendency as humans is to live for tomorrow. Think about who you attempt to plan your life with. We make plans for where we are going to live, the job we are going to have, who we want to marry, or where we will retire. In fact, we have no idea if our tomorrow will even come. Yes, we can plan for some things, but we should always understand that they may never come to fruition. This begs the question: Do we actually have control over our lives?

In Luke 12:16-20, Christ tells us a parable, the parable of the rich fool. “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ " This man planned his future in the world.

We plan for the future when we should actually be ensuring that we are tending to our eternal future. We do this by living for God every single day we are blessed to have in which we can serve Him. As Jesus instructed in Matthew 6:33-34, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Is it possible to live as Christ instructed? It is, or He would not have instructed it.

We must center our lives on Jesus. Making Him our focus and treasure. Paul wrote, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Walking by faith or walking in the Spirit helps to remove our tendencies to covet. I want this, I need that, if I could only have those. These are the walks of the world. Instead, we should be thinking: I have Christ; I need Him; if I could only have His holiness. The greatest life is not what we have gathered when we are removed from it. The greatest life is revealed when we hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23)

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13) “Lord willing” is the way to live one's life, for every breath in this world is a gift of God. Remember Christ’s words, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick

or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:36-40). Open your eyes and do not ignore them. Clothe them; do not isolate them in the catacombs of prison; feed the hungry; and quench their thirsts. Walk like Christ and pray for His mercy and grace for yourself and those around you. Give them the gospel, the true hope of all humanity.

Live for Christ today and every day, and “if the Lord wills,” serve Him alone, every day you are gifted by God. If you do not know Christ as your Savior, seek Him today the next breath is a gift and there is no salvation in death.

Grace and Peace.