Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will [18] 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."
(Jas 4:13-15)
In thinking about this topic, it made me do some reflecting on my life. I had to think about the times when I’ve said “If the Lord wills, then…” Sadly to say that wasn’t many times. It made me think, “was I really doing the will of the Lord?” Or for that matter did I really care about the Will of the Lord. God has a plan for our life. He has things that he wants us to do, things he wants to spare us from and things he wants to bless us with but it’s all a part of doing His will. This makes me think of a commercial I saw on TV. They were at a will reading of what looks like to be a grandmother of her family. Now, she seemed to be very well off so everyone was expecting a large piece of money from her. She had a grandson that was just a lazy slob but in order for him to get what she was going to leave to him he had to clean himself up, get his act together and then he would be able to receive what she had for him. He had to live by the guidelines of the will.
I can imagine on that first day of him trying to do the things in the will that she wanted him to do that was against what he was so used to doing. I’m sure it was a struggle, But he wanted the things that his grandmother had left for him so badly that he was willing to do anything (It’s amazing how God can speak to you through some of the simplest things). How come we don’t have this mentality when it comes to God’s will. I know this is a commercial but let’s use a little of imagination to go deeper into it. I can see him getting to a certain point of him being pressured by his friends who were used to him doing the same things and being the same lazy and sloppy person. I can see them wanting to party with him and then wanting to sleep late like they all used to do but when he thinks back on the will of his grandmother he says to his friends “as much as I want to do these things and as tempting as it is I can’t because I know if I mess up I will be out of my grandmothers will and I won’t be able to get that money she left me.” Or, how about this, he doesn’t have to work on Saturday but he wants to sleep in late. I’m sure he will say to himself if it is in my grandmothers will then I will sleep late if not I will get up and do what I am supposed to do. I bet then he will go to the Will and go over it with a fine toothed comb to find out if that would be in the will.
This spoke volumes to me. How many times do we not do what’s in the will of God. God has treasures that he would love to give but only if we stay in his will. We should have enough ambition that if there is something that is questionable to His will that we would go seek out his will for ourselves through his word (the bible). We should humble ourselves and pray to the Lord not my will but Yours be done in my life. Stay open to letting the perfect will work in your life because once you are in the will of God things can only get better. Take my buddy in the commercial. Even though he wanted that money from his grandmother he was willing to do what was in her will but by doing that it made him a more responsible and better person and I would like to think it changed his life. I pray that God’s Will would be done in all of our lives so that we can unlock the treasures and promises that He has for us!
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
(Rom 12:2)
God Bless you and stay in the Race,
Pastor Jonathan Roundtree