If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise Expresses Life’s Uncertainty

You don’t know how God’s will or unforeseen circumstances might modify your plans. Boasting about them is ridiculous. They are always tentative. The problem addressed in verse James 4:13 is that many Christians live as if God does not exist.

James 4:13 illustrates independent planning that displeases God. He wants to be the Lord in every area of life. Spiritual people seek to know God’s will and recognize their dependence on God.

Are you a practical atheist with respect to work, recreation, social life, TV viewing, or income tax reporting? Do you try to fit God into your plans or continually adapt your plans to His? He has a plan to maximize our spiritual fruit.

Your plans for the future always have an asterisk because you do not know what tomorrow will bring. James 4:14 condemns every device to predict the future apart from God. The histories of those who attempt it prove, “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow” (James 4:14 NIV).

Life is like fog. It is short-lived. It is unpredictable. You cannot foresee the time or manner of your death. Planning your life as if you were independent is a foolish venture.

James 4:15-17 describes your obligation to acknowledge God. "If it is the LORD's will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15 NIV).

Each day is a gift to use wisely. It could be your last. No machine can hold back your spirit when God summons it.

Your work also depends on God. Your plans are like eggshells. Unforeseen circumstances easily crush them.

I thought I would be an aquatic biologist my entire working career. Those plans were untracked after only 4.5 years. God had another idea. I subsequently planned to work in my denomination’s regional office until I retired. That didn’t happen either.

God overrides the plans of even the strongest, most fruitful Christians. You are not indispensable, no matter how spiritually fruitful you are. Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators, drowned in a lake in New York at 50 amid a fruitful ministry.

You are like an infant tethered to God by an invisible umbilical cord that sustains your life and work. Every breath, every heartbeat is a gift from above.

James 4:15 doesn’t remove your responsibility to plan. It undercuts independent planning.

So, should you punctuate every plan with “If the Lord wills?” That can become a meaningless cliché.

The opposite extreme is to live as if God does not exist. Balance is essential. When stating his plans, Paul used “if God is willing” in Acts 18:21 and 1 Corinthians 4:19, 16:7. But he did not in Acts 19:12, Romans 15:24, or 1 Corinthians 16:5, 8.

James 4:17 (NIV) states a conclusion: “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.” James 4:15 teaches it is right to include God in your plans.

The sinfulness of not doing what is right separates the sheep from the goats at the last judgment. (Matthew 25:31-46). God condemns loveless religiosity.

Wise people plan to show love to the least of Jesus’ brethren when they can. That is always God’s will! What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.

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God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,671 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,636 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting. 

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