Scripture
Our verse for today comes from James 4:13-16, ” Listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;’ 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. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ”
Background and Application
We take a lot of things for granted, don’t we? How many of us wonder if we’ll take our next breath or have something to eat come our next meal time? We are so accustomed to God’s grace and faithfulness that we don’t even consider all that He is doing to make our lives possible. We can even disregard Him completely, knowing He stands waiting to forgive and accept us when we return to Him seeking forgiveness. And because of His boundless grace, we readily succumb to the idea that we have a say in what we will do, and more specifically, what we have the ability to do. But in doing this, we fall victim to the weakness of pride and self-sufficiency. Our thinking gets turned upside-down, and humility and dependence become liabilities or hindrances, while ego and effort take center stage. What we can plan and do and accomplish becomes the focus, and our God, the source of all power and goodness, is used as a dimmer switch, to be turned up or down as we feel the need for His help. But God has much more in store than for us to rely on our own strength or capabilities. Consider that in God’s perfect plan to redeem man and be glorified on earth, He intended for Jesus to be on this earth about thirty years, and to take only three years to train and disciple the ones who would spread His gospel. But His Holy Spirit has lived inside of man for over 2000 years. So when He said it was better for us that He go away and send the Comforter, He must have known what He was talking about. When He said that we would do greater things than He did, He was serious. And that humble reliance on God and His amazing power is what gives me a heartbeat, it’s what can change my heart, and it’s what can reach and change this neighborhood and the world. So don’t take God for granted. Let Him take you where He wants you to go, for a vapor doesn’t choose its path.
Charge
As we seek Him today, ask God to make today an amazing day for you. Don’t expect the same old thing, but look for the extraordinary. Trust God to do all that He has promised He would do.
