Following God's Plan
James 4:15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."
If you’re from the Midwest or South, you’re heard the phrase “Well, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, we’re going to do…” But we take it too far. When I’m done preaching this message, at some point today I will read the passage for next week and start thinking about it all week long. All week as I think about it, I write it down. I thought about some of it this morning! Part of my planning is to look online and see who has already done this passage and what notes I can find. One of them said that we make too much of a cliché out of this, to the point where you can ask, “Can you pass me the salad?” And they reply, “Well Lord willing.” “Well, Lord willing, I won’t stab you with a salad fork for saying, ‘Lord willing!’” Stop making a cliché out of this! Christians don’t need anymore clichés or bumper stickers! It needs to be a conviction. We don’t have enough of that.
It should look more like this: I’ve thought this through, I have prayed this through, and I have sought Godly counsel. I have confirmed this with Scripture, this is not against the Bible, and after doing all those things, this is the plan; but I could be wrong, therefore the Lord is welcome to change my plans, because His will overrides my will. Amen? I trust that His Will will bring glory to him and be good for me. That’s what James means by saying “If the Lord wills.” It’s not a cliché, it’s a conviction. It’s a thought process that leads to a way of life.
Most people lean toward either Type A or B. Either you’re more assertive, a planner, and you’re going after the dream. You don’t stop. Or there are other folks who are more cool, whatever works, 60’s kids – you got the dream? Sweet. Go for it, let me know how I can help. Both are okay, but here’s what this verse does for us: Type A is more active in planning, Type B is more passive in planning.
If you’re Type A, this verse allows for humility. We don’t deal with humility well, do we Type A’s? You know better. You’ve got the plan, the idea, and you are going to go get it. If anyone gets in your way, you’re going to kick them off the path so you can get it done. Type A folks, you have your organizational charts, flow charts, you have everything laid out, “God bless this….GO!!!” That’s Type A. And then what happens? The circumstances change, because at some point you said, “The Lord told me this si what I need to do” and you throw that out there, setting yourself up. The circumstances start to change and now you’re in a quandary…so now I have a decision to make. Do I lose credibility? Type A’s lead, maybe not well, but they’ll lead! Now they fear losing credibility by changing the plan. The plan is in place! That’s why it’s called a plan! Plan the work, work the plan. And then things change. Now you’re trying to figure out whether to press on and keep going against what the Lord is leading, or do you change the plan and lose credibility? Type A’s are afraid to raise their hands right now. Do I lose credibility by saying we’re going to change the plan, or do I march forward against the Lord’s leading because I’ve already told everyone I’m on a mission from God? Or can you say this – here’s where the humility comes in – “I believe this is what the Lord has for us. When and if he changes the situation, we’ll reassess and change if necessary, but FOR NOW this is the direction we’re going. This is where we’re headed, if the Lord wills. I’m pretty sure this is the direction he has for us right now.”
Type B: you’re scared out of your mind because you don’t want to say anything. You just want to say, “I don’t know! I don’t know if this is what is saying! I have these decisions, and I don’t want to be wrong because people are following me, and I don’t know if this is what God is saying!” So you don’t make a decision. This verse allows you to have confidence, because now you can say, “I think I know where we’re headed if the Lord wills. If I’m wrong, I’m inviting the Lord to redirect our steps, but this is the path we’re going to take for now.”
Type A’s and B’s just came together. A’s find humility, and B’s find confidence. We’re no longer paralyzed by fear and indecision and frustration. You can breathe a sigh of relief because this makes sense!
It should look more like this: I’ve thought this through, I have prayed this through, and I have sought Godly counsel. I have confirmed this with Scripture, this is not against the Bible, and after doing all those things, this is the plan; but I could be wrong, therefore the Lord is welcome to change my plans, because His will overrides my will. Amen? I trust that His Will will bring glory to him and be good for me. That’s what James means by saying “If the Lord wills.” It’s not a cliché, it’s a conviction. It’s a thought process that leads to a way of life.
Most people lean toward either Type A or B. Either you’re more assertive, a planner, and you’re going after the dream. You don’t stop. Or there are other folks who are more cool, whatever works, 60’s kids – you got the dream? Sweet. Go for it, let me know how I can help. Both are okay, but here’s what this verse does for us: Type A is more active in planning, Type B is more passive in planning.
If you’re Type A, this verse allows for humility. We don’t deal with humility well, do we Type A’s? You know better. You’ve got the plan, the idea, and you are going to go get it. If anyone gets in your way, you’re going to kick them off the path so you can get it done. Type A folks, you have your organizational charts, flow charts, you have everything laid out, “God bless this….GO!!!” That’s Type A. And then what happens? The circumstances change, because at some point you said, “The Lord told me this si what I need to do” and you throw that out there, setting yourself up. The circumstances start to change and now you’re in a quandary…so now I have a decision to make. Do I lose credibility? Type A’s lead, maybe not well, but they’ll lead! Now they fear losing credibility by changing the plan. The plan is in place! That’s why it’s called a plan! Plan the work, work the plan. And then things change. Now you’re trying to figure out whether to press on and keep going against what the Lord is leading, or do you change the plan and lose credibility? Type A’s are afraid to raise their hands right now. Do I lose credibility by saying we’re going to change the plan, or do I march forward against the Lord’s leading because I’ve already told everyone I’m on a mission from God? Or can you say this – here’s where the humility comes in – “I believe this is what the Lord has for us. When and if he changes the situation, we’ll reassess and change if necessary, but FOR NOW this is the direction we’re going. This is where we’re headed, if the Lord wills. I’m pretty sure this is the direction he has for us right now.”
Type B: you’re scared out of your mind because you don’t want to say anything. You just want to say, “I don’t know! I don’t know if this is what is saying! I have these decisions, and I don’t want to be wrong because people are following me, and I don’t know if this is what God is saying!” So you don’t make a decision. This verse allows you to have confidence, because now you can say, “I think I know where we’re headed if the Lord wills. If I’m wrong, I’m inviting the Lord to redirect our steps, but this is the path we’re going to take for now.”
Type A’s and B’s just came together. A’s find humility, and B’s find confidence. We’re no longer paralyzed by fear and indecision and frustration. You can breathe a sigh of relief because this makes sense!