If the Lord Will

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. - James 4:15

    If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.

    The Apostle does not condemn the buying and selling of merchandise nor the lawful practice of going about one's business. He is rebuking those who plan and promote those things without consulting the will of God or considering the uncertainty of human life. We must not say that we are going here or there, that we are going to do this or that as if these things are in our power and that we have no dependence on the providence and will of God.

    You and I know nothing of tomorrow, nor even if we shall live until then. Therefore, it is foolish and even haughty to determine what we shall do and where we shall go without considering the will of God, in whom we live and move and have our being. “What is your life?” or, what is the nature of your life? We are but a wisp of vapor, a puff of smoke, a mist that is visible for a short time and then disappears. Instead of saying we will go to such and such a place, or we will do this or that, it should be said, “If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that.”

    We must be careful not to boast presumptuously of tomorrow, nor of the continuance of life, nor of going to certain places and doing certain things. All such boasting and planning, without regard to the will and providence of our Lord, is evil.