Monday Meditation

“Look here, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog–it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.”

James 4:13-16

With the short-term nature of the various assignments that my husband receives, we do a lot of talking about “what’s coming next.” Most of the time we don’t have a clue until God makes it quite obvious what the next step will be.

Right now, however, there is no clear next step, and it’s tempting to start focusing on our own ideas of what we think might…or should… happen.

It’s verses like these in James, and ones in Proverbs like 16:9 that say, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps,” that help keep me grounded. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with dreaming and planning, but ultimately those dreams and plans must be laid at His feet.