Chrissie Prichard

James 4:13-17

Pay attention, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such-and-such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and making a profit.” You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes. Here’s what you ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But now you boast and brag, and all such boasting is evil. It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it.

Reflection:

​​When I was younger, my family owned a few horses that we would use around our small cattle farm. My siblings loved riding! My sister even asked for a horse for her high school graduation present. I asked for a necklace. Needless to say, we’re very different people! Even before I could articulate it, I think I’ve always known the reason I didn’t enjoy riding as much as my siblings is because riding a horse inherently means surrendering some level of control to the horse, and I don’t like that at all! I am most comfortable when I feel like everything is in order and the outcome is more or less certain.

 

Like James’ audience in Chapter 4, I plan life in advance. I live by my calendar, and if I had my way I would already have all of our vacations through 2023 scheduled and detailed in spreadsheets. And while there is nothing wrong with making a plan, in fact, Proverbs 13:16 says “a wise man thinks ahead”, the problem is that when life does go according to our plan we can mistakenly believe we are in control and even feel like we should get credit for things working out the way we designed. I know I have been lulled into a false sense of having it all under control myself, even patting myself on the back for how great my plans were. Maybe you’ve been there too.

 

Horseback riders certainly have a part to play when riding, but they are never fully in control. Likewise, us planners can continue to plan, but let’s do so with an awareness and appreciation that it is God that is ultimately in control, not us. And thank goodness for that because God can take us places and show us things that far surpass even our most well-thought-out plans.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, Thank you for being the ultimate planner! Today I come to you asking for your guidance and direction for my life. Help me to make my plans in full awareness that you are in control, and for that I am grateful. Amen.