| His Way or Your Way? |
His Way or Your Way?
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.
— James 4:13–14
The Bible doesn't condemn the person who makes plans for the future.
Rather, it criticizes the person who makes those plans with no thought
whatsoever for the will of God. That is a dangerous thing to do. God will
not share His glory with another.
There is nothing wrong with making plans. Paul told the believers in
Ephesus that he would return for renewed ministry among them, "God
willing" (Acts 18:21). He wrote to the Corinthians that he planned
another visit "if the Lord wills" (1 Corinthians 4:19). On other occasions,
Paul spoke of his plans to do certain things and how the Lord changed
his plans. We have our plans. We have our purposes. We have our
agendas. But the Lord may redirect us.
Jesus taught us to pray, "Your will be done" (Luke 11:2). Our prayers
will be effective and successful when we align our will with the will of
God and pray accordingly. Prayer is not getting our will in heaven; it is
getting God's will on Earth. It is not moving God our way; it is moving
ourselves His way. We need to remember that His will may be different
from ours. And we must be willing to accept that.
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. We can
always fall back on the simple promise of Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know
the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace
and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
God's plans for you are better than any plans you have for yourself. So
don't be afraid of God's will, even if it is different from yours.
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.
— James 4:13–14
The Bible doesn't condemn the person who makes plans for the future.
Rather, it criticizes the person who makes those plans with no thought
whatsoever for the will of God. That is a dangerous thing to do. God will
not share His glory with another.
There is nothing wrong with making plans. Paul told the believers in
Ephesus that he would return for renewed ministry among them, "God
willing" (Acts 18:21). He wrote to the Corinthians that he planned
another visit "if the Lord wills" (1 Corinthians 4:19). On other occasions,
Paul spoke of his plans to do certain things and how the Lord changed
his plans. We have our plans. We have our purposes. We have our
agendas. But the Lord may redirect us.
Jesus taught us to pray, "Your will be done" (Luke 11:2). Our prayers
will be effective and successful when we align our will with the will of
God and pray accordingly. Prayer is not getting our will in heaven; it is
getting God's will on Earth. It is not moving God our way; it is moving
ourselves His way. We need to remember that His will may be different
from ours. And we must be willing to accept that.
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. We can
always fall back on the simple promise of Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know
the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace
and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
God's plans for you are better than any plans you have for yourself. So
don't be afraid of God's will, even if it is different from yours.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |