James 4:13-17
It is easy to get into the habit of presuming upon God. Every year when we are all gathered around the Christmas Tree opening presents, everyone in the midst of opening those gifts and expressing joy, finds it easy to presume that they will all be doing the same thing in a year at the same place with the same people. “In one year we will be doing the same thing again” is the attitude that everyone present displays. It’s easy to fall into such a frame of mind but God’s Word tells us not to be so fast. It is not good to presume upon God. We have no power to control certain things about our lives so we should not presume that we are in control and that what we do and what happens to us is something that we have a final word on.
In the Book of James we are told something to which everyone should pay attention. In James 4:13-17 we are warned about presuming upon God. James says:
v.13…”Come now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain;
v. 14…”Whereas ye know not what shall be on the next day. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
v. 15…”For ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
v. 16…”But now ye rejoice in your boastings; all such rejoicing is evil.”
It is easy to see that God’s Word warns us about thinking we can order our lives as we want them to go. He says that “all such rejoicing in evil.” In other words….
“Don’t do it!”
Every New Year’s Day there are a number of events which celebrate the beginning of the new year. The most famous is the celebrated “ball drop” in Times Square in New York City. Millions of people make their way to Times Square to watch a beautiful glass ball slide down a steel pole and reach the bottom at precisely midnight signaling the beginning of a new year. A huge celebration with lots of
entertainment leads up to that precise moment. As the first second ticks by there is a huge amount of “hoopla” as they welcome in the new year. All those people in that great crowd are thinking that all is going to go well for them and that they will be back in another crowd next year. They had better be careful presuming upon God as we are warned by James, the Lord’s brother.
When one assumes the idea that they will “handle things” and that they have that ability, then they are creating a source of worry and concern because, you see, deep down inside the human being realizes that things can happen which will totally upset their plans. They are under a bit of strain wondering if what they want to do will actually take place. They bring some stress into life because they are doing exactly what James 4:13-17 tells them not to do. And, God’s Word on such issues is final; not negotiable. Let me tell you how to get rid of that stress: Trust God. He knows all your needs. He is in control of the events surrounding your life and nothing takes Him by surprise. Simply trust God and turn your life over to Him. Then, you will be able to relax and enjoy the life the Lord gives to you.
At the beginning of the New Year, we all have the same amount of time. A person generally doesn’t think about things like this but I figured up that there are
31,536,000 seconds in a year. You might be caught off guard with that because you are probably startled by what you think is a smaller figure than you thought. It does seem rather small doesn’t it? But, that’s all the time a person, or any and all people, have. What are you going to do with your 31,536,000 seconds. Some people seem to get more done than others but they all have the same time. When we think about it like that (considering the seconds) it sort of breaks life down into segments and makes us realize that we should handle our time better than we do. God gives us this time but it can be taken away at any moment and if we that is realized it will make a person seek to use it better.
Of course, we all make plans. Nothing is wrong with that. But, we should cease to presume upon God and do as the Bible says when it says in James 4:15…”For ye ought to say, “If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.” There is nothing wrong with making plans but we must not presume upon God and think that just because we make the plans that they will come into effect as we desire. What God is telling us to do is to cease thinking we are an entity within ourselves and that we should consider Him as the source for our lives. We can’t bring into being one thing that God doesn’t know about in advance. So, we should say…”If the Lord will…” That way we honor Him and place ourselves under His authority. Whether one realizes it or not, they are already under His authority so they might as well make it easy on themselves and honor God at the same time.
So, as we face the coming New Year, let me encourage you to think on these things and consider them carefully. You will be much happier with your
31,536,000 seconds if you do not Presume Upon God.
My desire with this article is to help you get into a position that will produce a happier and more complete life for you in the coming year. God wants you to be happy and complete. Include Him in your plans and aspirations, don’t Presume Upon Him, and you will be.
