Today's Reading:O.T. - Esther 6 - 10
N.T. - James 4
Focus Verses: James 4:13-17
13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
Insight:
People of faith must prayerfully and humbly look to God when they look toward the future and make plans. Since we don't know what tomorrow brings (we don't even know how many tomorrows we will have), we should look to God for guidance and wisdom about our plans. Every thought about our next steps should be tempered with a consideration of whether or not we believe those steps are consistent with what we know of God's will. To plan without God, and without thoughtful regard for His will, is a form of pride and selfishness. Leaving God out of our thoughts and plans for tomorrow is sin.
Response and Action:
I will hold every plan I make up to the light of God's word and God's will. Every idea, goal, and intention should be informed and shaped by my desire to honor and serve God. I will seek godly counsel and guidance from Scripture, Christian friends, and through prayer. I will remember that life is short and ask God for the wisdom and humility to be a good steward of each day He has given me.
O God, teach me to number my days, that I might present a heart of wisdom. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that quickly passes, but I'm like grass that springs up and quickly fades away. Help me to live each day for you. Help me to hold up every plan and dream and goal to you for guidance and direction that I might serve and honor you in every tomorrow you graciously give me. Amen.
Proverbs: 10:27-28
"The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing."
Resources:
Knowing God's Will: Finding Guidance for Personal Decisions
by M. Blaine Smith
