God Every Morning Your Mercies are New!
Oh, the plans that had been made at the beginning of the year. Some had plans for Spring Break. Perhaps it was a trip to the theme parks or a trip to “the beach” or a time when relatives were coming to Florida from “up North.”
Our church had trips planned to Honduras and then a trip to “the Holy Land” in June.
I had plans for a trip to Elkridge, Maryland to witness the “First Holy Communion” for Emilie, our granddaughter. Pam and I talked about it excitedly as only being two months away when we would get to see our Maryland family.
As you can imagine, all of those plans have had to be changed. The coronavirus has become a central concern for our country. The virus has brought about alterations in the way things are done, from how we do (or do not do) corporate worship, how we socialize (or do not socialize because of “social distancing”), how we shop (or do not shop) and how we spend our days. Plans have been changed and even what the future looks like in the United States and around the world has been altered.
Pam and I talked about plans for the six months and year to come. I thought that I had prayed about these plans and felt that they were what God wanted us to do. I was so sure of where I was going and what I had to do to have peace and tranquility in my life. I can remember saying this is what I will do; and when I do that, all things will be well. I was confident in what I could accomplish. Amazing how things have been modified over the last few weeks.
As I thought about the above, my mind was drawn to a passage in James 4 which says:
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.
As James writes chapter 4:13, he is aware of the warning in the book of Proverbs (27:1) concerning “boasting about what we are going to do tomorrow.” Let me hasten to say that he is also aware that often times in the book of Proverbs (6:8; 20:18; 22:3; 24:27; 27:12; 30:25), individuals (and ants) are celebrated for making plans for life.
God has more to say to us about our life attitude when James tells us that our life is a mist and passes, much like the prompt we had on Ash Wednesday this year to pay attention to our transitory nature when Father Don or I said: “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” when we placed ashes on foreheads. James reminds us that our lives are finite and uncertain. Life is like a mist. We are here for a little while and then gone. We do not know what tomorrow holds. We cannot control tomorrow. God, however, is eternal, sovereign, powerful and compassionate. God reminds His people that they are to walk in His will. He knows what tomorrow holds and what is in store for us. That is why we should plan by: (1) looking for how God will be glorified in my tomorrow and (2) knowing that God will do what brings glory to himself and lead to our enjoyment of His presence in our lives.
God is not telling his people stop planning. He tells them that they need to recognize that He may change those plans, not based on whether those plans are “good or bad,” but because He is the God who knows what is best for His people.
I am certain that when Joseph went to visit his brothers at the bidding of Jacob, he did not plan on being thrown into a pit, sold to merchants who sold him to Potiphar who threw him into prison, etc. I am pretty sure you know the rest of the story. Joseph later told his brothers that while he and they had a plan for that day, God had a plan for Joseph’s life that would bring much more glory to God and from which they (both Joseph and the brothers) would experience joy! (Genesis 50:20)
James calls God’s people to trust God in each and every part of their lives. To assume to have control of their lives is boasting based on arrogance. God knows all about our needs and desires. Jesus said: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
(Matthew 10:29-31).
So, in closing, James urges us to seek God’s will in our lives, knowing that God cares for us and loves us. All of our plans should be made with the goal that God would be glorified in what we do and should those plans be changed by God; let us depend on God, not only to glorify Himself, but bring joy to us.
In all things, we can say to God, “Your steadfast love never ceases, your mercies never end, great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22, 23
When I know that my tomorrow is in the hands of a God who loves me, I can rest assured that “for those who love God all things work together for good” Romans 8:28
Read the lyrics of “Who am I”
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?
Refrain:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what You’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who You are.
I am a flower quickly fading:
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still You hear me when I’m calling.
Lord, You catch me when I’m falling.
And You’ve told me who I am.
I am Yours, I am Yours.
Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again?
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me?
Refrain
Not because of who I am,
But because of what You’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve done,
But because of who You are.
Refrain
Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
‘Cause I am Yours, I am Yours.
Faith Over Fear!