James 4:13-17
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.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Hardly a day goes by when word comes that someone has experienced some sort of catastrophic occurrence in their life. As a pastor I seem to be a conduit of these reports that have an impact on the lives of those closest to the victims.
It is not necessarily restricted to the death of a loved one, although that is certainly one of the examples. A healthy individual may be going about his or her regular business when suddenly a stroke occurs—that healthy person has become an invalid. A lab report may be returned that reveals the presence of cancer—the life of that individual and the entire family has now changed.
Rather than focusing our attention on these debilitating examples, we need to bring the reality of change into our life. If we have not prepared ourselves spiritually for these circumstances, we will be flattened out.
James gives us a strong dose of reality. Life is just a mist that will soon vanish. Rather than putting all of our effort into the things of this world, we need to make preparation for eternity. It begins with being born again and must also be followed by growing mature by constantly seeking God’s will for our life.
Blessings, Dear Hearts, draw near to God today, trust Him completely, and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil