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Have you woken up before, with the day carefully laid out; I mean your work well cut out for you; then boom, something happens and you have to put everything on hold and rush off in a totally different direction? It has happened to me so often. There are days I just plan everything out, but end up spending the entire day in the hospital.

The most recent was two days ago. I had planned checking up on a course I had applied for; then head off to replace a client’s device that had become faulty; then pass by the bank, and wrap up by checking on a few people. I had just started the car when my son called me, that Mommy wanted me to check on Ngozi, my seven year old daughter. I told my son to bring her. I then checked her temperature with my hand, and immediately knew my day was over.

There are a lot of times that we have our days all planned out; that we would visit this client, or issue this invoice, or pick this consignment, or call this or that person or do a certain work. But we end up spending the day in the hospital, rushing off to attend to a sick parent, nursing an injury, or having to rush to attend to some other emergency.

We often think we have control over what happens in this life, but the stark truth is that we have very little, or no control at all.

Apostle James addressed this when he wrote to the twelve tribes.

READ James 4:13-17

“`”Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance.

All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”“` (James 4:13-17)

I have had so many disruptions to my days; even more so since I became a parent; so much so that when Apostle James writes to the twelve tribes and tells them they should not say they will do this or that today or tomorrow; and that they don’t even know what will happen tomorrow; I believe him and can identify with what he is saying perfectly.

The truth is we really don’t have any control. The massive disruption the Covid-19 pandemic brought to lives and businesses attests resoundingly to this fact; although it has always been so.

Companies are on their knees; people have lost jobs; travel plans cancelled; events suspended and life is generally in limbo.

James realised how little control we have and admonished that, instead of being so confident of what we intend to do, we should rather say,

“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:15)

What do you plan doing today, or tomorrow?

Say, “If the Lord Wills, I will do… “

MEMORY VERSE
“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” James 4:15

QUESTIONS

1. What plans do you have?
2. Why don’t you get God on your side by saying, “If the Lord wills, I will do…”?

PRAYER TIP
Pray and commit all your plans into God’s hands. Whether they happen, or not, ultimately depends on Him.

Written by:
Benny Malm
For:
Testimony Devotional