Thu Oct 31 – Inviting God’s Will To Be Done On Earth

James 4:13-15 (CEB)

13 Pay attention, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such-and-such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and making a profit.” 14 You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes. 15 Here’s what you ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast and brag, and all such boasting is evil.


Reflection

Let’s think about this scripture for a bit. When I read the scripture I realize that many of our lives seem different than what Peter seems to be describing. We plan for everything from cradle to grave don’t we? What color will the babies room be painted. Where we live, what we buy, our educational plans, and much more, are often based on decisions that come from worldly values and desires.

Proverbs 16 verses 1 – 9 tells us that humans follow what their hearts want but God has a proper answer. A person’s ways may seem pure in their own eyes, but God weighs what we do. If we commit what we do to the Lord he will establish our plans because the Lord does work out everything in the end, the end including this world and the next.

Pride is an indication of acting against what the Lord values. Through love and faithfulness sins are atoned for and through respect for the Lord evil is avoided. It is better to have little with righteousness and a humble nature than much when gained unjustly. Humans plan their course in their hearts, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Coming back to our scripture, one study bible makes a point that life has so many variables that we just can’t guarantee our own lives. God’s kingdom agenda is different because he is all-knowing, all- powerful and eternal. When we acknowledge that our plans fall within a larger reality, the will of God, and submit our plans to God and seek to hear his response, our life decisions have God values in them.

It is stated that to do something if God wills it is not a pious phrase but a philosophy of life. Think of John 4 verse 34 where Jesus says that he is fed by doing the will of the one who sent him and by completing the work he was sent to do.          

by Clarence Beverage


For Pondering and Prayer

This will be new for me, I am going to try to consciously ask God for his input and guidance and then wait for an answer. Just the waiting for an answer part will be different.

– During what seasons of life have you followed your own path and made your own choices rather than submitting to God’s plan?

– During what seasons of life have you intentionally followed God’s plan rather than your own desires?

– What outcomes did you experience in each of the previous seasons of life?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for Pastor Joe who brought us a new way of thinking and acting in last Sunday’s message. We pray always for the presence of your Spirit who can give us
patience and lead us in the way that you would have us to go in our lives. Help
us to be good models of your word and to share your presence with others. Amen

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