Jas 4:13-17 ESV 13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-- 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Pro 16:3, 9, 18, 33 ESV 3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. … 9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. … 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. … The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Having a plan is prudent. Demanding that God has no right to interrupt my plans is arrogance. Having a plan is wise. Getting angry and bitter that life hasn’t turned out the way I planned is sinful. If God is Sovereign (and He is) and He is my Lord (and He is) then His plans and His purposes are what stands. And here is where James 4:17 pricked my conscience and answered my prayer that God would show me my “hidden faults” (Psalm 19) . . .
My health demands that I make decisions and limit my energy output. I must say no to some activities and must change the way I perform other tasks. When I try to do things as I used to do, let’s just say that actions have consequences. When I stubbornly push forth beyond what I know is reasonable, I don’t just have more spasms and pain and exhaustion. I am not being a faithful steward of this “fragile vessel” as well as presuming that God owes me to get me out of the spasm that my stubbornness has wrought.
I know the right (moral and reasonable) thing to do. To stubbornly go against that God-given wisdom is arrogant, proud, and sinful.
Thank You, God, for showing me my hidden faults. Now that I know this, please keep me also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me . . .(Psalm 19)
Pray for the Persecuted Church–OpenDoorsUSA
Day 7: Ask God to change the hearts of the Sultan
and the other leaders of Oman. God can do anything,
including reaching Oman’s powerful leader with the
hope of the gospel
Daily Wisdom Psalm 86-90 Proverbs 18
Plea for Grace 