"If the Lord wills..."

"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”— 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. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
(James 4:13-15 ESV)

I have recently been troubled by much uncertainty. And that uncertainty is pushing me to make plans, plans without the Lord's counsel. I find myself thinking often of what next year will look like. I spend so much time pondering and worrying. Then I attempt to put myself at ease with one more e-mail, one more phone call, one more advisor meeting, one more career coach appointment, or one more friend to tell me everything will be fine all in a selfish pursuit of security.

Truth be told, the security found in these efforts has only been temporary and will always be fleeting.

Yet I so eagerly want to know what I will be doing next year because I am afraid it will be nothing and I don't want failure or the reputation that comes with it. So I look to myself to make things happen and make decisions based on what I can do in the time I may or may not have. I have placed God on my time schedule or maybe even left Him out.

Today, as I was praying, I was quickly reminded that as all of these anxious thoughts go through my head over and over again, my Heavenly FATHER has been and is still sitting on the throne. He is not perplexed. He is not worried. He is not doubting His plan. He is not flustered trying to figure things out. He can do all things and no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2). He knows my needs, He sets the schedule, He sets the career path, He sets the place, the time, the role, the life that comes tomorrow and even after this year. I am called to faithfully walk closely with Him. Time does not restrict or free Him. He transcends time. He never needs more or less of it to fulfill His purposes. Instead, He chooses more or less of it calling us to either go or wait and be patient recognizing that He is worthy of our obedience and surrender.

I want His plans and His schedule. Growing up in Nigeria, I would always hear Nigerians faithfully respond to people's questions about plans with "If the Lord wills..." and I love that! I love it! I want to approach every thought with "If the Lord wills..." And that is not a hint of a lack of faith but rather an expression of faith that recognizes that He can do all things but does not always allow all things. Rather He is purposeful in working everything out for our good and His glory.

There is true security found only in Him. What a stinkin' sweet truth :-D