The Balance Between Planning And Trust

I am a planner – I thrive on making plans and love setting short-term and long-term goals. I always map out plans for tomorrow the night before. It usually looks something like this:

Tomorrow, I will do my morning devotions, have breakfast, go to church for office hours, and then go to my lunch meeting with another pastor at noon. Afterward, I will return to church to work on my sermon. Then, I will come back home around 4 p.m. to go to the gym with Emily – it’s leg day. Afterward, we will have dinner, call our parents, watch television, and sleep.

I also create a weekly “To Do List,” which is always written on my phone. This type of planning can carry on into monthly, yearly, and even lifelong plans. We make plans about our careers, education, health, retirement, finances, and so on. The truth is that we all have a natural tendency to plan. Some say that planning is an essential trait that helps us navigate through the complex and uncertain world. We feel that we gain a sense of control, structure, and assurance as we map out our goals.

However, it becomes interesting when our tendencies to plan meet reality – the reality of God – that God is the author of our lives and that He alone decides our appointed times and boundaries on earth. Sure, we may plan, but the Scriptures testify that the Lord directs our steps. As believers, we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and the Lord of all life. We confess with our words that we trust in him, but when it comes down to day-to-day living and planning, we may fall short of what we say and plan without acknowledging the Lord. We often make significant life decisions like marriage, careers, children, homes, and finances without considering God’s plans for our lives.

In our text today, James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, addresses this reality. James wants us to think about the plans we make in life and ask, “Are we acknowledging God in all of this? Does God’s plan come first, or does mine come first?” Ultimately, James wants us to realize that a person whose faith has integrity knows that God is the one who holds our future. Therefore, recognizing that God is sovereign over our plans, we must live lives that reflect that reality.

James says in verse 13, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’” James calls on the people who thrive on making plans. He is alluding to the itinerant mercantile – the traveling salesman of his day who would trade from city to city, carrying their goods on camels or donkeys. Due to their profession, they had to be good planners. The merchants had to plan. The merchants needed to negotiate well to buy certain goods for a low price, take them to a location where they could be sold for a high price, make travel arrangements, and return home safely with a profit.

This man that James describes had a good plan. If you look at verse 13 carefully, you can see that the person James describes is competent and motivated to make a profit. He has picked out an item he wants to sell and bought it at a reasonable price. He did his research and picked a town where he knew there was a high demand for his product. He has also calculated the time he will need to spend there. This was not a weekend adventure. He planned to spend a year of his life on this venture, which reveals a degree of dedication.

I suppose we could visualize what is happening here with the following example:

One day, this man says to his business partner in Jericho, “Hey, did you know that in Tyre and Sidon, there is a high demand for Israel’s olive oil and dates? Apparently, the ladies use it for skincare, and they can’t get enough of it! It blew up on Instagram!” He continued, “We did so well on our previous business trip to Corinth. We made a great profit there selling some of the choicest dried dates. I guarantee we will make much more money in Tyre and Sidon.”

He says, “Look, you don’t have to worry. I will plan everything. I will contact the best olive oil and fig producers in the country. I will hire mercenaries to protect us during the journey. I will arrange with the camel distributors. We will go for about a year, and I guarantee this trip will be worth it.”

So, he spent sleepless nights—sacrificing his sleep for weeks after weeks—planning and strategizing, making sure everything was right. He was certain that his plan was perfect. He double-checked everything, dotted all the “I’s,” and crossed all the “T’s.” He knew that he was going to succeed. He often skipped meals because he was so focused on his plans. Then, finally, the night before the trip comes. Restless from the anticipation of the journey that would happen the following morning, he remained at his desk in his office until late at night, and his mind was filled with visions of success and wealth...