Come now, 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.  James 4:13-16 NKJV

When a hurricane is headed our way, we are in a holding pattern. We don’t know if the schools will have to close. We don’t know if we will be out of electricity for an extended period of time. We don’t know if roadways will be blocked by fallen trees. We don’t know if we will have to evacuate. There is a lot of unknowns.

As a child, I often would ask my grandmother about doing something and when she told me that we were going to do that, “If the good Lord was willing and the creeks don’t rise,” I knew that this meant that unless something really bad happened we were going to do what we had planned.

Most of us like to plan. We like to have our organizers, day planners. Now we can store this information on our phone or tablet. If you are prone to forget like me, you even set alerts to remind you. We are always busy and we always have plans. Now here in southeast Louisiana when we hear that a hurricane is headed our way, our plans may change to storm preparation or evacuation.

I can recall several times over the last few years when I had plans to do something and wound up sitting in an ambulance or a hospital room with my mom. Plans had to be cancelled or changed. We never know from one minute to the next what we will be facing. We never know what the future holds. But we do know who holds the future. So whenever or whatever we plan to do, we should acknowledge God in these plans. We should acknowledge that He and He alone controls whether or not we will be able to do as we planned or go where we planned.

In the model prayer found in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus tells us to pray, “Thy will be done”. I used to have a hard time with that especially when I wanted it my way. I found it difficult as a loved one lay dying to pray, “Thy will be done,” for fear that it was God’s will to call my loved one home. But when I committed myself to Christ, I realized that God’s will is always best. I realized that I could trust in God’s will. I have also learned that I never want anything to happen in my life that is outside of God’s will.

Sadly, we sometimes go against God’s will. Now this doesn’t mean that God’s will is not going to be done, it just means that you may suffer punishment or forego a blessing because you didn’t do as God told you to do. You can rest assured God’s will is going to be done. We need to be sure that what we do is in God’s will.

I have learned that if the good Lord is willing for me to do something He will provide all I need to do it. He will help me to get it done. He will give me the strength to do what I may think is impossible (Philippians 4:13). It is much easier for me to live in God’s will than to fight against it.

If you are struggling today maybe it’s because you are making plans or promises you know you may not be able to keep. Maybe you are trying to do things you way in your will. Trust in God, He will guide your path (Proverbs 3:6).

Be careful about making promises, but acknowledge that if the good Lord is willing you can do this or that or go here or there. Trust in Him in all that you do.

Have a great day!