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.” As it is, you boast in your
arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do
and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:13-17)
Most of the time we feel like we’re in control of things. We make
plans and schedules about how life should go. The reality, though, is only God
knows what will happen. We can debate politically whether businesses and
gatherings should be open or closed. Should each be allowed to decide on their
own or should government officials mandate that? However, God reminds us that
we are relatively minor and our plans are fragile.
That’s difficult to accept because when we talk about businesses,
we’re talking about wages and bills, about companies and people being able to survive
and stay afloat. There’s a lot of uncertainty. I’m extremely grateful both my
wife and I can still work and haven’t lost our incomes. I know people who have
been furloughed or lost work and pay. To be in that position must be
frustrating and painful.
Yet just because things are hard or we don’t like our circumstances
doesn’t mean we get to toss out what God’s word tells us. We can plan and
schedule, I don’t think James is saying that part is sinful. But the assumption
that things will prosper for us or go exactly as we think they could and should
and must—trusting ourselves and our deserving, that’s where we need to be
careful about sin. We must heed the call to do good as we’re able. We must
trust God before and when and after things happen—whether they go as hoped or
fall flat in our estimation.
Let’s go one step further, though. Are we able to pray that the Lord’s
will be done and have that mean, “God, continue this crisis until you
accomplish your purposes for your glory”? We all want COVID-19 to be done. God
did not create humanity hoping for us to get sick and experience death. It’s
painful to see people get sick and die near or far. It’s hard to lose financial
security or be unable to pay for needs ourselves. But do you trust God enough
that you are able and willing to pray like Jesus, “…Your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 6:10), and have it mean, “…Not as I will,
but as you will” (Matthew 26:39)?
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