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”— 14 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.
We have all heard stories of people who were so smart that they were going to retire by the time they were 40 and spend their lives on their yacht. Then you hear a news story of an arrest for embezzlement and guess who. It is just this brand of arrogance that is the target of James’ ire in his letter, probably the earliest New Testament book. The overconfidence in these people is comic, and common. For James, the missing ingredient was humility. There was just no concept of anything going wrong. They had it all figured out. They didn’t figure on God’s plan however. God allocates his blessings. God numbers our days. To think otherwise is to ignore his majesty and power. These people do so at their peril.
It is perfectly fine to make plans. As a church planter, I make plans for this ministry and for discipleship. There is a key phrase that needs to be remembered when making these plans. The phrase is “God willing.” If God wills, Cape Community Church will join the Bible Fellowship Church in April of 2023. That would be a sign of great success; for God, not man. We make retirement plans, not knowing our length of days. We are planning for what God is willing to grant us, whether long life or a short and turbulent time on earth. You do not know what tomorrow will bring but commit it to his leading…
The Lord is willing.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church