Read: James 4:13-17
This passage discusses
how life is short and uncertain. As with
the previous section of the chapter, this passage speaks of the importance of
humility. Verse 16 confirms this when
James writes, “you boast in your
arrogance”. Basically, he is saying that it is arrogant to say that you
know Christ yet not bother consulting Him with your everyday decisions. It is proud to make our own plans without
consulting the Lord. These verses tell us that life is uncertain, “you
do not know what tomorrow will bring” (v. 14).
There are no guarantees
in life. We can try to make our own
plans and control our own future but ultimately God is in control of our future
and our successes and failures are dependent on Him.
It is not wrong to plan
for the future. It is wise to have a
will, to have retirement savings, investments, and future plans. Yet, we err
when we arrogantly put our trust in our business ventures, savings accounts and
stored wealth instead of putting our trust in God, who controls the
future. When we plan for the future we
must remember that if the stock market fails and we lose everything our hope is
not lost. This really comes down to a
heart issue. So, buy the life insurance
policy, invest, save but remember that there is no such thing as financial
security. It is impossible to plan ahead
for all the things that could go wrong.
The economy could crash, the housing market could collapse, terrorists could
overrun our country, investments can fail – trusting in God is the only source
of security for the future. Jesus wants
to be functional Lord of our entire lives including our businesses and our
personal finances.
Doing things on your own,
without consulting the Lord, is pride. Many
Christians profess to know God but practically they are atheists who don’t
bring God into their everyday lives.
These believers falsely think that they have been successful because of
their own hard work and smart business sense but they forget that everything they
have comes from God by His grace (1 Cor. 4:7). That even includes the ability
to make money. The right thing to do is
to take the Lord into consideration in all our endeavors, including finances. Failing to do this is sin.
Prayer and Journaling
1. Thank the Lord for being Sovereign over the future. Ask Him to show you an area of your life
where He has been Sovereign – thank Him for this. Thank Him for being Head of the Church.
2. Ask the Lord to show you an area of your life where you need
to inquire of Him. This could be for a
decision, for your finances/personal budget, a work/family issue, etc. Ask Him to show you if there is anything
blocking you from receiving the truth from Him today. Deal with what He shows
you (confession, etc.). Then listen in
prayer about what He wants to say to you about this area. Commit to following through on any action
steps that He gives you.
3. Pray for believers to move into deeper relationship with Jesus
as functional Lord of their lives and for churches to invite Him to be
functional head of their church.
