Planning with Jesus (James 4:13-15)

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow ^[d]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

 

I like to plan things; don’t you? I also get upset when things don’t go like I plan them. Things like when I expect my kids to do something and they don’t or when I expect people to treat me fairly  and they don’t or when I expect life will go easy and smoothly but it doesn’t. I think as people we all share a certain level of discomfort and displeasure when things don’t go our way.

Stop and think for a moment though about how God wants us to process our planning in life. Firstly; did we keep God in our thoughts when we made our plans in the first place? (Proverbs 3:5-6) It’s important that we attempt to look at life and circumstances from God’s point of view. I find in my own life it’s all too easy to dwell on disappointments and grumble over my own oversights but God is perfect in every way! He has bigger purposes for our lives than we often realize and sometimes He’ll allow us to derail or go off track to develop patience or some other virtue in our character and smooth out rough edges in our personality like anger or pride. (Romans 5:3-5) Remember that God’s primary motive for your life is that it brings Him glory. (Isaiah 42:8) He has every right as Almighty God to allow things in your life to mold you into the image He desires you to be. (Romans 8:29)

Secondly; Be honest and realistic in assessing your own failed plans but remember that your true identity is in the person of Jesus Christ and not your plan. (Ephesians 1:3)  Defining yourself by your successes or failures will ultimately leave you dissatisfied because of the many uncertainties associated with this life. (James 4:14) Planning for the future is difficult because it involves much oversight and thoughtfulness. (Proverbs 11:14) Sometimes our plans may fail due to poor judgment, lack of preparedness, plain laziness, or circumstances outside of our control. That’s’ when it’s especially important to lean on God who in His loving providence is all wise and all knowing and already has our path charted out for us in advance. (Isaiah 40:28, 1 Peter 5:7) The sum total of your life is not wrapped up in your plans succeeding or failing. As Christians; our identity is rooted in the personhood of Jesus Christ who is perfectly successful always and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

Thirdly; grow in grace and knowledge through your plans. (2 Peter 3:18) Planning successfully require godliness as we learn that Jesus Christ is the solution to all of life’s problems and his glory should be the entire sum total of our plans. (Colossians 2:9) It is impossible to be truly successful apart from an abiding relationship to Jesus Christ. (John 15:5) Poorly executed plans that are rooted in loving obedience to Jesus Christ are superior to elaborately executed plans that are realised apart from Jesus Christ. That is because genuine wisdom in life is derived from God. (Proverbs 9:10) Furthermore; our eternal rewards will be awarded by Christ on the basis that our plans were in keeping with God’s ways. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Finally; Be satisfied with carrying out your plans because that is your lot in this life. (1 Timothy 6:6, Ecclesiastes 5:18) Part of being created in God’s image is we are able to carry out our own plans in this life. This is our privilege and common grace as humans not shared by the animals. They merely do what they do instinctively whereas people are able to create and mold their very own plans! Why not thank God today for allowing us to make our own plans… if the Lord wills.