How To Plan Ahead Series

James 4:13-17. [13] 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"-- [14] 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. [15] Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (ESV)

Over this past week, overwhelmed rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria rose past 17,000 this week, with despair mounting and the scale of the disaster hampering relief efforts. (https://nationalpost.com/news/world/race-against-time-death-toll-passes-5000-from-earthquake-in-turkey-syria)

People have called this an act of God. But why is it only in situations like this we call events such. If you were to ask people in Turkey on Monday, what they expected this coming week to be like, you would most likely heard stories of going to work, enjoying time with friends and family, and making plans for doing various things that we all take for granted. Although it’s a good idea to make plans for various things in our life, if we fail to consider the sovereign nature of God in our lives we are in essence, setting ourselves up for disappointment or worse. God has His own plans and when we ignore, deny, or disobey His will, there are significant consequences.

Life is far from simple. It is a complex matrix of forces, events, people, contingencies, and circumstances over which we have little or no control, making it impossible for anyone to ascertain, design, or assure any specific future. Despite that, some people foolishly imagine that they are in charge of their lives. Sadly, such people ignore not only the existence of God’s will, but also its benefit. Christians have the comfort of knowing that the sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent God of the universe controls every event and circumstance of their lives and weaves them all into His perfect plan for them (Rom. 8:28).

How are we to plan in light of God`s will? It be silly to plan without considering God`s will? What if we execute our plans in a direction contrary to what God has revealed? James tells us to consider in our planning process the blessing of acknowledging God`s will. In James 4:13-17 he points to four elements in how to properly plan ahead. First he shows: 1) The Foolishness of Ignoring God`s Will (James 4:13-14), 2) The Arrogance of Denying God`s Will (James 4:16) and 3) The Sin of Disobeying God`s Will (James 4:17). James however shows us 4) The Blessing of Acknowledging God`s Will (James 4:15)

For us to consider How to properly Plan Ahead, we must first consider:

1) The Foolishness of Ignoring God’s Will (James 4:13–14)

James 4:13-14. [13]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"-- [14]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. (ESV)

In James 4:13, the first negative response to God’s will is foolishly ignoring it, living as if God did not exist or was indifferent to and benign toward human behavior. James addressed such people in familiar Old Testament prophetic style (cf. Isa. 1:18); The persons James addresses, however, appear to be the Jewish Christians who are living in dispersion. He writes this letter to them and not to unbelievers. Although his tone changes, James seems to indicate that the readers know how to do that which is good (v. 17), which implies that they belong to the Christian community (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary: Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. New Testament Commentary (146). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)

James begins his address with his words come now which are an insistent, even brash call for attention. James is in effect saying “Listen up!” or “Get this!” The phrase come now appears in the New Testament only here and in James 5:1. This begins an address where the claimants have a deliberate and calculated arrogance. They would go where they liked, and for as long as they liked. (Adamson, J. B. (1976). The Epistle of James (p. 179). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)

• Underlying this is the sentiment of our day. People have their lives and plans and don’t expect anything or anyone to get in the way. This text is a wake-up call, in that it is an unconsidered life that is actually getting in the way of the reality of a sovereign God.