191 James: Navigating the Future

What are your plans for the future?

In James 4, the author uses the illustration of business people who make plans that will make them a lot of money. The problem James is addressing isn’t that they’d strategized or made plans. Indeed, the Bible speaks about the value of planning. (see Prov. 21:5)

Rather James reveals three mistakes people commonly make when it comes to navigating the future.

Mistake #1: Making plans without God.

All too often we make plans without ever consulting God and then ask Him to bless them! 

There are three ways we can respond to God’s role in navigating our lives:

• We can show INDIFFERENCE to it: Simply ignoring God as we make plans.

• We can make REFERENCE to it: Giving God mere lip service.

•  We can give PREFERENCE to it: Take the time and make the effort to seek Him before making this decision or taking this step.

The Bible tells us that God needs to be in the forefront of our plans, not an afterthought.  Foolishly thinking we know best, we fail to see that not only does He has the last word, He has the best word. 

Mistake #2: Taking tomorrow for granted.

This type of thinking has two faulty assumptions: 

• Life is predicatable. 

• I am invulnerable.

James says that our lives are like mist, here for a moment then gone. You are not promised tomorrow.  Don’t say, “I’ll get right with God someday.” Now is the time. Today is the day of salvation.

Mistake #3: Failing to do the good you can do now.

James is talking about sins of omission – things we should do, but don’t do. 

What has God been asking you to do...yet you have not responded?

Text: James 4:13-17 

Originally recorded on May 16, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN