As 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 midst that appears for a little while and the vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).

Deo volente – Lord willing, this is how we should approach everything in life, especially entering a new year. Part of human pride is to presume what will take place and how things will work out. Our intentions may be good, but they may not be what the Lord desires for us in any given situation. It is dangerous to make assumptions in life. We simply do not know what today will bring, let alone tomorrow. Some may protest against this, citing a consistent track record of what happens every Monday or Tuesday. But experience does not guarantee future repetition.

People enter and leave our lives all the time. Co-workers, employees, customers, students, friends, and neighbors change or move. Our health does not remain constant. Things can change quickly with an accident or a diagnosis we did not expect. Sudden illness may alter our future. With so many variables in life, it is safer and better to entrust our lives, our days, our burdens into God’s almighty hands. If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that (James 4:15).

The will of God is just and good. The birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ changes everything. The Lord of heaven and earth adopts you into His family. In baptism, He chose you to be His own now and forever. In the Holy Supper He joins His body and blood to yours through eating and drinking. In this most intimate fashion, He connects Himself to you. He desires to bring you through time into eternity. When that transition will be only the Lord knows. Jesus is coming back at an unannounced time. He may call you to His nearer presence anytime through death.

This should not frighten us. The Lord has your best interests at heart. Entering this new year, may we be quick to say: If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that (James 4:15).

Rev. Timothy Scharr
President
Southern Illinois District