James 4:13-17
~17 min read
💭 Consider this: Which areas of your life are the most difficult to surrender to God's Will? Are there moments where you've prioritised your own desires above His? How can you view your ambitions and plans in light of God’s purpose for your life?
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for today’s message is taken from James 4:13-17. In life, we always need to plan. As the saying goes, ‘A person living his life without a plan is like a bird trying to fly without wings’. The businessman will have to plan what kind of business strategy he wants to adopt. The student will have to plan what kind of courses he wants to take. The young couple will have to plan when and where to start a family. You may be sitting here in the pews, but you are already planning what you are going to do after this worship service.
Life is full of plans, whether long-term or short-term plans. To plan ahead is good because you will have a good focus. Otherwise, you will not know in which direction to move forward. But there is one big problem in planning ahead and that is when God is not in the picture. You and I, no matter who we are, how rich, intellectual, young, or old, we may experience some victories here and there, but we can never be in control of every situation in life.
There’s only one who is in control of every situation in life and He is our Sovereign God. So in all our plans, when we only focus on our own desires and aspirations, we are proud because we have excluded God. When we live our lives seeking to do our own will rather than the Will of God, we will not receive blessings but only trouble.
Do you remember the nephew of Abraham, Lot? When he chose against God’s Will to move into Sodom, he brought trouble to his family. When Moses chose to strike the rock instead of speaking to the Rock, he was disqualified from entering the Promised Land. When King David chose to commit adultery, he brought trouble and great afflictions to his family and his kingdom. When Jonah chose to disobey God — refusing to go to Nineveh — he was swallowed by the big fish.
In every case, there was always this wrong attitude toward the Will of God; toward making plans moving forward. We all love these Bible stories, but so often we ourselves forget to apply these principles into our lives. This is what we want to learn from today’s passage in James 4:13-17. The title of our message is ‘God’s Plan or My Plan’?
I. A Presumptuous Attitude
Our first point is a presumptuous attitude. Let us begin with verse 13: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain” (James 4:13). This seems to be a statement that James was making to a group of businessmen. Remember, James was writing this letter to the believers who were scattered throughout the world outside Palestine, and some of them were businessmen and merchants. When they engaged in their business dealings, it was natural for them to desire to succeed, and one of the things they had to do was to plan ahead.
Wise planning and good business strategy is not sinful in and of itself. In fact, it is good for us to be wise in our dealings. When we read this verse, when these people said these words, there were no spiritual sins that were committed in anything they said. The problem is in what they did not say or consider. They had a good plan, but they did not include God into their plans. He was totally excluded. That was their problem.
So James’ rebuke was not against planning for the future; he was against planning without taking God into account, to be presumptuous, proud, and arrogant, believing that everything will work out according to what they had planned. Remember how Lucifer fell from heaven when he said in his heart in Isaiah 14:13-14, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High”.
In the last two verses, Lucifer made five self-confident “I will”s: “I will ascend”, “I will exalt”, “I will sit”, and again, “I will ascend”, and finally, “I will be like the most High”. In other words, he will be like God. Because of that pride, that self-confidence, it became his downfall. If you notice, James 4:13 also had these five elements of that sinful self-confidence. Let us take some time to consider these five elements.
Firstly, the people chose their own time, “To day or to morrow”. Of all days, they had decided it was either today or tomorrow. Time is something that we all know we have the least control of, and yet we would still want to plan as if we are in total control of the time and space.
When I was serving in the drug rehabilitation ministry in Singapore, I used to counsel drug addicts, and I would tell them, ‘You must stop taking drugs before it is too late’. They would tell me, ‘I will start to quit by next week’ or ‘By tomorrow, I will quit my drug habits’. But tomorrow never came because some of them were arrested by the police; others died of overdose.
Indeed, tomorrow may never come. For all you know, we may not even live to see tonight. None of us is in control of time. Only God alone is in control of time. Every day, we are living by the mercies of God, so we should not be presumptuous to plan as if we are in control of the time.
Secondly, they chose their own location, “we will go into such a city”. Of all the places, they had decided to go to this particular city. The location and place is another thing we always presume we are in control of. I know of a student who planned to do her degree in a certain country. She did her own research of all the universities around the world and she decided on a particular one. She was very excited. She had everything planned. But just one month before she left for that country, something happened in that school, and she had to abandon her plan and go to another country to do her degree.
Recently, someone in our church planned to go overseas for holiday with his entire family. They booked the tickets. They even booked the hotel. But instead of going to that country, he went to the hospital because he suffered a stroke. From time to time, we all experience such situations, don’t we? None of us can be 100% sure of the place we go to, no matter how familiar we are with the place. We should not be presumptuous in regards to the place we go to, whether it is for work, for holidays, or for visitations.
Thirdly, they chose their own duration, ‘We will continue there for a year’. These people had decided to spend one year in that city. Why one year? We do not know. What happens if the situation does not permit them to even stay for one day? Duration is another thing we always like to presume, the duration of our activities.
Many people have their retirement plans. Somehow, they believe they will live their lives to enjoy all those things they have prepared for themselves. They plan with this anticipation that they will spend their retirement funds; they will see their children grow up, and settle down with their own families. But do they really know? Can they really be sure that they will get to experience all those things? No. Let us all be mindful that we are never in control of the duration of the time we have. Only God is in control of whatever time we have in this world.
Fourthly, they chose their own business, “to buy and sell”. These people had decided what they would do. Of all the things they could do in that city, they decided to buy and sell. Dear friend, when you choose your job or vocation, do you prayerfully seek the Will of God in your decision? As a student, when you choose your course or program in your school, do you ask God for wisdom and discernment to make the right decision? We always choose what we would want to do. It is my will rather than God’s Will.
Finally, they chose their own goal and even the result: “to get gain”, to make a profit. So, these people not only decided what they were going to do, but they also decided that they were going to be successful. They were going to buy when the price was low and then sell when the price went up, so they presume that they will make a profit. This is very typical of those people who play with the stock market. Buy when the price is good, sell when the price is even better, and then get a profit.
James was not against the motivation to make a profit and everyone wants to prosper in the things they do. The problem is when you exclude God in your undertaking. That is when pride creeps in. Human pride always leads to a presumptuous attitude. Dear friend, what part does God play in your plan for the future? Are you aiming for greater achievements but forgetting God in the process? Are you reaching for things bigger and greater without considering God in your plan?
Do you know what was God’s response to this kind of attitude? Well, the Bible says in verse 14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). In other words, you don’t even know what is going to happen tomorrow, and you are making such elaborate plans for yourselves. ‘Your life is only like a vapour, it appears for a little time, and then it vanishes away’.
Life is described like a puff of smoke that comes from a fire, like the steam that arises from a cup of coffee, or your breath that is visible on a cold day. When it disappears, it disappears; it cannot stay for one second more than it should. That is our life. Like a vapour, it is so brief. It is so interesting that we tend to count our years at each birthday right? Recently, we celebrated three birthdays in our seniors’ ministry, and we know their dates, as in their years. But the Bible tells us to count our days.
Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”. Our days are so few; we live one day at a time, and each day rushes by so quickly. As we grow older, we realise that we cannot afford to spend our days; we cannot afford to waste our days. We must invest our days in those things that are eternal, not things that are temporal; things that are permanent, not things that are like this world that will perish.
Jesus told a tragic but most illustrative story in the parable of the rich fool in the Gospel of Luke 12:16-21. I think you are very familiar with this parable. The rich man had a great harvest, and he said to himself, “What shall I do, because I have no [more] room to store [up] all my fruits and my goods”? And then he said, “This is what I shall do: I will pull down my barns and build greater [better] ones, [so I can] store all my fruits and my goods”.
Up to this point, there is nothing wrong. Any farmer who is wise will want to expand his operations. But he went on and said, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; [so take it easy], eat, drink, and be merry”. Here is the problem: the heart of the farmer is now exposed. He obviously excluded God in his plan. Any plan that excludes God is sinful. And God said to him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20).
Dear friend, what if your soul is required of you tonight? Do you still have time to consider all your plans? Most certainly not. Then the next question is ‘Are you ready to meet the Lord God Almighty? Are you ready for eternity? Are you ready to meet your Maker’?
If you are an unbeliever, “thy soul be required of thee” means it is the time for you to meet your Creator and you will be judged for your sins, and you will be throwed into the Lake of Fire forever and ever. Come and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who can save you. None can save you except the one who died and shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary. Believe in Him before it is too late.
Just because you are young and strong, it does not mean that death is still a long way. The Chinese have a saying, ‘The grave is not filled with old people, but the grave is filled with dead people’, including children. Even if you were to live up to 100 years, death is still imminent. Without God, it is vanity.
II. A Humble Submission
So, the first kind of attitude is a presumptuous attitude in planning for the future. The second attitude is a humble submission to the Will of God. Look at verse 15, “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that”. “If the Lord will” is a very unique expression. It appears several times in the New Testament. It is not just a statement we carry in our lips, but it is this constant attitude in our hearts.
To the Ephesians, Paul said, ‘I will come back if it is God’s Will’. To the Corinthians, he said, ‘But I will come back soon if the Lord is willing’. “If the Lord will” means if God permits or if God allows. What James was saying is this: ‘Even before you consider your plans, firstly ask yourself if God will permit you to live or not. Do not presume that you will have one more day to live unless the Lord permits’.
“If the Lord will” is a humble expression of our submission. If you and I acknowledge that only God is in control of all circumstances, if we acknowledge that our life is like a vapour — it “appeareth for a little time” and then vanishes away (verse 14) — and only God is in control of life and death, then we better humble ourselves to submit to His sovereign Will. The spirit of humility cannot coexist with the spirit of pride. It is either we are humble or we are proud. We cannot be both.
Verse 16, “But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil” (James 4:16). The word “rejoicing” is to boast; to speak loudly and the word “boastings” has the idea of wondering about, like someone bragging about something he does not have and cannot obtain. Here it seems that some of the believers had fallen into this sin.
Therefore, James said to them, ‘You are in no control of your life, which is like a vapour, and yet you are making such elaborate plans with no consideration for God. Instead of submitting yourself to the Will of God, you are bragging about things that you do not have and cannot obtain, and you have absolutely no control of’.
So, all that we have mentioned about those plans in regards to the time, in regards to the place, in regards to the duration, in regards to our businesses, what we would do in regards to even the result, we are in absolutely no control of. So James said, “All such rejoicing is evil”. The word “evil” is often used as a title for Satan; sometimes it is translated as ‘the evil one’ or “the wicked one”.
In other words, when you and I do not submit ourselves to the Will of God; when we are making empty, foolish, and arrogant plans with no consideration for God, we are actually following the example of Satan. Remember, Satan made five self-confident statements — “I will ascend”, “I will exalt”, “I will sit”, and again, “I will ascend”, and then “I will be like the most High” — with absolutely no consideration for God.
Verse 17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). You know what is the right thing to do; you know what is the Will of God, and if you do not obey, then that is sin. Some of us may be asking, ‘How do I know what is the right thing to do or what is the Will of God’?
In the Bible, God has given us His precepts; His instructions; His principles; His commandments; His warnings; His promises that will guide us in every area of our lives. He has a plan for us, and He has revealed His Will in the Bible. Allow me to give you some examples. It is God’s Will that we yield ourselves to God (2 Corinthians 8:5). It is God’s Will that we avoid sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3). It is God’s Will that we always rejoice, pray, and be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Every commandment is a part of the Will of God, and we must obey them. You and I cannot live our lives according to the Will of God if we disobey or disregard the Bible. If you are a believer and you want to marry an unbeliever, well, the Bible says, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship [has] righteousness with unrighteousness?... what communion [have] light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). So do not say, ‘If it is the Lord’s Will’ — it is never God’s Will for you to marry an unbeliever — because the Bible says so.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light [onto] my path”. God has given us His word so that we may live our lives in His Will in this dark and sinful world. Without the Word of God, you and I will be groping in spiritual darkness. You and I will be walking through this dark jungle without a map. It would be like going through the stormy seas without a navigator.
When I was serving in the National Service in Singapore, it is part of the training that we have to go into the jungle at night, which was totally dark. We had to enter into the jungle on one side and then reach our destination on the other side. Before our commander sent us into the jungle, he gave us a five-word lecture. ‘Keep close to your compass’. You lose your compass, you lose your direction”.
Likewise, when we lose the Bible, we lose this spiritual sense of direction. We do not know where to go to. And if we know the Bible — this is the right thing to do; this is the Will of God — and we do not obey, then it is sin. That is what James was trying to tell us. God’s plan must always take precedence over our plans. We must always submit our plans to His Will because only God is in control of all things. Only God knows what is best for you and me, and His plan is always good for us.
Sometimes we may not understand how His plan will work out in our lives. We know this is the right thing to do; this is the Will of God as revealed to us in the Bible. But if we obey, the road ahead seems to be filled with trials, troubles, and struggles. We may not understand everything. We do not pretend to understand everything. It is not our responsibility to understand everything. But it is our responsibility to obey. Sometimes it may take years or even eternity for us to understand how the Will of God is worked out in our lives.
If I may end by giving you this illustration: There was this man watching a cocoon that rested on the side of his window. He was looking at it persistently. He knew there was a butterfly in the cocoon. One day, the encased butterfly began to penetrate the cocoon in an attempt to get his freedom. The man watched with great anticipation. ‘Will it ever get out? I think it is exhausted. I think it needs my help’.
So with great or good intention, he carefully took a pair of scissors and slit open the cocoon. The butterfly crawled out, but sadly, that was all it ever did. It could never fly again and subsequently it died. The reason is because each time when the butterfly struggles, there is this special substance that is released into its wings, which is the very reason it could later on fly with grace and beauty. Without the struggle, there is no strength to fly.
We may not fully understand God’s plan. How at times it can be filled with many trials. How it can come with afflictions and struggles. But one thing we do know — “If the Lord will”; if the Lord permits; if He allows — He has a sovereign purpose of which we do not understand. All of us should be able to say, “[We] know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Perhaps, in eternity, we will be able to see how wonderful the Will of God works out in our lives.
As Jeremiah the prophet said in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, [says] the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. God always meant good for us. His will; His plan, is always perfect for us. So, dear friend, as we make plans — for our future; for our church; for our lives; for our marriages; for our jobs; for our employments; for our families, our children — we must not have a presumptuous attitude, but rather a submissive and humble spirit, always willing to yield ourselves to the Will of God. “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that” (James 4:15). God’s plan or my plan? It must always be God’s plan.
Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, indeed, Thou art omniscient, all-knowing, and Thy thoughts toward us are always good. Those are thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give us an expected end. O Lord, Thou has taught us that we ought not to have a presumptuous attitude, for none of us are in control of anything in our lives; none of us can be sure of anything in our lives. Only Thou alone are in control of all things.
Indeed, ‘for what is our life? It is but a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away’. We must always be mindful of the brevity of our lives, and so we must humble ourselves. ‘If the Lord will, then we shall live and do this or that’. O Lord, we want to submit to Thy Will. Our plans must always be subjected to Thy Will, and we pray that we will always obey Thy Word and live our lives for Thy glory. Your plan or our plans. It must always be Your plan. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF JAMESFacing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]James 1:1-4
Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]James 1:1-4
The Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialThe Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialJames 1:5-8
Trial Is No Respecter Of PersonsTrial Is No Respecter Of PersonsJames 1:9-12
How To Deal With TemptationHow To Deal With TemptationJames 1:13-15
Remember Who God Is And Who We AreRemember Who God Is And Who We AreJames 1:16-18
Be Receptive To The Word Of GodBe Receptive To The Word Of GodJames 1:19-21
Doers of the WordDoers of the WordJames 1:21-25
Be Responsive To The Word Of GodBe Responsive To The Word Of GodJames 1:22-25
Are You Transformed By The Word?Are You Transformed By The Word?James 1:26-27
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]James 2:1-4
The Sin of PartialityThe Sin of PartialityJames 2:1-13
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]James 2:5-13
Show Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineShow Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineJames 2:14-20
Faith In ActionFaith In ActionJames 2:21-26
A Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherA Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherJames 3:1-2
Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)James 3:1-13
The Power Of The TongueThe Power Of The TongueJames 3:3-6
The Taming Of The TongueThe Taming Of The TongueJames 3:7-12
The Danger Of False WisdomThe Danger Of False WisdomJames 3:13-16
The Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomThe Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomJames 3:17-18
Dealing With Conflict In The ChurchDealing With Conflict In The ChurchJames 4:1-6
What Constitutes True SalvationWhat Constitutes True SalvationJames 4:7-10
Speak No EvilSpeak No EvilJames 4:11-12
God’s Plan Or My Plan?God’s Plan Or My Plan?James 4:13-17
Physically Rich But Spiritually PoorPhysically Rich But Spiritually PoorJames 5:1-6
How To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleHow To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleJames 5:7-11
Simply Speak The TruthSimply Speak The TruthJames 5:12; Matthew 5:33-37
What To Do When It HurtsWhat To Do When It HurtsJames 5:13-18
The Value Of The SoulThe Value Of The SoulJames 5:19-20
